Reports suggest Leeds United and Preston North End are close to agreeing a loan deal that will see the Liverpool-born striker join Phil Brown’s side on loan.

According to reports from Preston North End sites, the deal hinges on what wage percentage Leeds United will accept for a player who is believed to be amongst Elland Road’s highest earners.

Billy Paynter’s time at Elland Road has been a disappointing one for player and fans alike, with the striker managing just one goal in 24 appearances after arriving from Swindon Town in 2010 as League One top goalscorer 2009-10.

Preston are currently 9th in League One and amongst the favourites for promotion following relegation from the Championship last season.

Preston North End, Leeds United and Andy Lonergan have finally agreed terms to make the highly-rated goalkeeper Simon Grayson’s third addition of the summer.

Lonergan ticks none of Ken Bates and Simon Grayson’s usual boxes in that he was neither free, over 30 and or an unknown player Leeds United fans have to Google.

Leeds United were believed to have been close to a deal with Lonergan earlier in the summer only for it to fall through due to wage demands. Grayson revealed that the former Preston man was always his first choice and that he was delighted to be announcing his arrival.

“Contrary to the speculation we weren’t chasing a lot of goalkeepers, Andy was always my number one choice, and I’m delighted we could bring him here.”

The deal represents good business for Leeds United not only because they’ve got the signature of a highly-rated goalkeeper who was attracting interest from Everton, but also because the rumoured fee was believed to be just £200,000. That means the sale and replacement of Kasper Schmeichel has netted the club somewhere in the region of £800,000.

Excitement today as Leeds United fans await their newest addition. Simon Grayson revealed yesterday that he expected a new player to arrive by the end of the weekend so start the countdown everyone and brace yourselves for another enormous let-down as Sunday passes by without incident.

The chances are, that if my extremely jaded prediction is proved wrong then the signing will be one of the trialists we’ve played in the last couple of games. However, there are a couple of other arguably more interesting rumours doing the rounds…

Lon-again, off again…

The loan deal to bring David Stockdale to Elland Road on a season long loan has apparently fallen through as Fulham and Leeds failed to agree on a 24-hour recall clause.

Instead, Leeds United have turned their attention back to Andy Lonergan; a player who has already held unsuccessful talks with the Whites this summer.

The news comes via a TalkSport interview with Preston North End’s outspoken manager Phil Brown – straight from the bright orange horse’s mouth basically.

Could it be Magic? 

Once again, Manchester City midfielder Michael Johnson is being linked with a season-long loan deal at Elland Road. Much like the Alan Smith speculation, this is just one of those rumours that refuses to go away.

This time the origin of the rumour can be traced back to The Mirror who claim Gwyn Williams went to watch Johnson play only last week.

There’s no denying Johnson would be a useful addition, but after a series of false starts, I’m not holding my breath that this time will be any different.

There is some logic to the rumour however. Johnson featured just twice for Manchester City last season and is in desperate need of some first team action. He also supports Leeds United and publicly expressed his desire to join the Whites last December. City have no real need for money either, which is always a bonus when dealing with Ken Bates.

Personally, I think there’s more chance Pete Doherty will learn from the death of his friend Amy Winehouse and turn his life around than there is of seeing Michael Johnson grace the hallowed turf of Elland Road, but we can keep dreaming I suppose.

Preston North End sites are today claiming the deal to take Andy Lonergan to Elland Road could fall through as the club and player struggle to agree personal terms.

It’s claimed a fee for the Preston stopper was agreed on Monday and that he underwent a medical at Thorp Arch the following day.

However, the keeper who Darren Ferguson once said he valued at £20m when fighting off interest from the Premier League has had several wage increases during his 11 years as a professional at Deepdale, meaning Leeds United are now struggling to meet his expectations.

Alleged interest from Coventry City and Everton means Lonergan is unlikely to accept any offer below his own personal valuation and that Leeds United may have to offer much more than originally intended to secure his signature.

Thanks to Mike Parkin for joining us this week. Mike is co-presenter on Watford podcast ‘From the Rookery End’ – you can hear the podcast or read more of Mike’s writing on Watford at www.fromtherookeryend.com and follow him on twitter at @rookerymike.

Ryan - It’s been nearly 8 months since we last met at Vicarage Road when Leeds were 1-0 winners. Has much changed for Watford since then?

Mike - Off the pitch, it looks like a takeover is virtually complete, which will hopefully bring some much needed financial stability to the club.  On the pitch, Watford found their scoring boots since your visit back in August and in Danny Graham we have the League’s leading scorer. We have however lost loanees Jordon Mutch and Andrew Taylor back to their parent clubs which has proved to be significant -  our form has fluctuated since they left.

The game at Vicarage Road in August has proved to be one of the poorest of the season involving Watford, I’d expect a much better diplay (from both sides!) at Elland Road on Saturday.

Ryan – How has your season turned out compared to your expectations at the start of the season?

Mike - Compared to what we expected, this season has been fantastic. Most Watford fans will admit that avoiding relegation was the primary target so to have been in and around the play-offs for most of the season has been as fun as it has been unexpected. We’ve played some great football too.

We’ve score a hatfull of goals which is always good to see, and we’ve had some memorable away wins, inluding the 6-1 demolition of Milwall and the 3-1 victory at Champions elect QPR. We were tipped my many to go down before the season began, so to register those sort of results and stay up with ease has been a source of great pride for us Hornets.

Ryan - Do you think you are still in with a shout of making the play-offs? Is Saturday the last throw of the dice?

Mike - Realistically we’ve got too much to do to make the top six now. It would take an extraordinary sequence of events to see us in the play-offs, so we’ll just sit back and enjoy our summer!

I always feel for the fans of clubs involved in the play-offs – it’s really hard to enjoy them if you are involved. Having said that, we had one of the most stress free experiences in the play-offs when we beat Crystal Palace 0-3 in the first leg away from home, meaning we were as good as in the Final already. We then had a similarly comfortable victory in the Final at Cardiff, although out of respect for you and your readers, I won’t dwell on that match!

Ryan - We had Danny Graham, the league’s top scorer, on loan at Elland Road a few years back and he’s been on red hot form this season. Do you think you’ll be able to keep hold of him in the summer?

Mike - We have to accept that if the right offer comes in for Danny, the likelihood is he will go. Of course we would love to keep him, but a big fee would go a long way to helping the club steady the financial ship. No Watford fan would want to see him go though, and deep down I’d be devastated if he left.

His finishing is excellent, but it is his work rate and movement that make him such a valuable asset. I’ll throw in an obscure fact for you too – Danny Graham is the reigning Watford FC table tenis champion. I’m not sure if that increases his value at all!

Ryan – Who else should we be looking out for in your team?

Mike - Martin Taylor has been immense at Centre Back. Watch out for his runs forward (he’s a big lad, so is hard to miss!), he can be a menace in the opposition box. Will Buckley is a tricky winger who has given most defences a hard time, whilst our midfield maestro Don Cowie is up there with the best assist statistics in the division. Oh, and Lloyd Doyley of course. Legend.

Ryan - If you could sign one current Leeds player for Watford, who would it be?

Mike - If we could turn back the clock, I’d take Tony Yeboah off your hands. I’d love to have seen him smashing a few in off the underside of the crossbar at Vicarage Road. Of the current crop, I wouldn’t mind us putting in a cheeky offer for Robert Snodgrass. He looks like the real deal. You can keep Leigh Bromby though.

Ryan - The Championship 2010/11: 3 up, 3 down?

Mike - Up: QPR, Cardiff and Swansea. Rangers have cracked it, whilst I can’t see Cardiff blowing it again. Swansea have been pretty consistent and play some decent stuff under Rodgers, so I’ll go with them to sneak up via the play-offs.

Down: Sheffield United, Preston and Scunny. All as good as gone already I think. Crystal Palace seem to be finding some form at the right time, so I think it will be the three currently occupying the relegation spots that disappear through the trapdoor.

Ryan - Finally, what’s your prediction for the game? I’m saying Leeds to edge it 2-1.

Mike - Leeds will be up for this in front of a noisy crowd, whilst Watford may be starting to think that the season is over. On the other hand, it’s a massive game for Leeds, whilst Watford have nothing to lose…anything could happen! I’ll go with my head and not my heart this time – Leeds to win 2-0.

This week we’re joined by Nicholas Fish from PNE Online Community Blog for a look ahead to tonight’s game. You can also find Nicholas on Twitter (@pneblog)

Ryan – We last met in September at Elland Road, when Preston came from 4-1 down to win 6-4. Has much changed for you since then?

PNEBlog – That was certainly a magical night for any Preston supporter and has to go down as one of the greatest games in the clubs 131 year history. Sadly however, we failed to build on that win that night and have gone on to record only two wins since.

We had Darren Ferguson given the boot by the club’s hierarchy, to the joy of many of the fans; his insistence on playing attacking football and showing little concern over our defensive frailties (TSS – Sounds familiar!) ultimately cost him his job. Ironically, the game against you back in September highlighted the whole of Fergie’s regime – having to score at least 3 or 4 to take three points.

We now, thankfully, have Phil Brown in charge who is a breath of fresh air. His tactical know-how has turned us into a solid unit, hard to beat both home and away, and we will definitely be looking to cause an upset on Tuesday night.

Ryan – That game was probably our lowest point of the season so far, but where does it rank for Preston? Did you ever imagine you would come back from 4-1 down?

PNEBlog – A low point for your season; the high point for ours. At 4 – 1 down many of the Preston fans were calling for Darren Ferguson’s head, and rightly so; some fans even left early can you believe and missed one of the best comebacks in the club’s history, if not thee best.

Once that fourth goal went in from Somma, we were devastated, there was no way back. At least that’s what we thought. Even at 4 – 4 we still thought that enough was enough; if any one was going to take all three points it would be you. However, we kept on attacking, typical of Fergie, and to everyones amazement we pulled off the ‘impossible’.

Ryan – What have you made of Phil Brown since he took charge at Deepdale?

PNEBlog – Phil has been like a breath of fresh air. His light hearted attitude and friendly demeanour has seen him become an instant hit with the fans. Already in his nine weeks in charge we have seen him take part in a variety of different events, such as fans forums in local pubs, interviews on radio Lancashire and talkSPORT, and appearances on the Football League Show to name but a few.

In these dark times at the club, he has been a positive figure for the fans and players to look towards for inspiration and hopefully, sooner or later, he will transform this into wins.

He has been very unlucky in his reign so far, with key decisions going against us in games; the strikers also letting him down hugely by missing the chances when they have arisen. If anyone can get us out of the current predicament, it is Phil Brown.

I can safely say that if Darren Ferguson was still in charge of the club, both the players and the fans would already have admitted defeat, however, I can gladly say that that is not the case; we will keep on fighting till the very end.

Ryan – Obviously, you’ve not had the greatest of seasons so far but recent results suggest a change in fortunes. Where are you expecting to finish at the end of the season? Are you confident that you’ll stay up?

PNEBlog – It has been a terrible season for everyone involved with the club, and something that we weren’t expecting at all; it has come completely out of the blue.

After watching North End annihilate Premier League side, Blackburn Rovers, in a pre-season play off back in July we were expecting to be towards the other end of the table, aiming for a half top half finish and trying to sneak into that last play-off place, although with the club going through a tough period off the pitch with regards to finance, there was always that niggling concern as to the future of the club.

With the gap now being ten points between ourselves and 21st place Crystal Palace it will be an extremely tough ask for Phil Brown to keep us in the Championship, however, if we manage to take all three points against you on Tuesday Night and back this up with a win against fellow relegation candidates, Scunthorpe, next Tuesday then we could potentially be within 4 points of safety; Crystal Palace having to face Cardiff and QPR in their next two matches.

Keep the faith!

Ryan – Who should we be looking out for in your team on Tuesday night?

PNEBlog – Iain Hume has been outstanding for us since arriving on loan from Barnsley back in September, he will certainly cause your defence a lot of problems on Tuesday night. Another player who has been in terrific form this season is full-back, Billy Jones, scoring some vital goals for us in the last minute of games as well as playing the role of provider on numerous occasions; constantly bombardig up the pitch with his energetic runs have caused all kinds of problems for the opposition this season.

Keith Treacy is another one to look out for if he decides to turn up. He has been either hot or cold in games this season; on his day Keith is arguably one of the best players in the Championship. I just hope that for our sake he does show up for this vital clash.

Ryan – If you could sign one current Leeds player for Preston, who would it be?

PNEBlog – I am a huge admirer of the Ivorian winger/striker Max Gradel. Since seeing him on the television in a cup game for you guys last year I have been a huge fan, and with 14 league goals this season we could certainly do with somebody like him in our ranks until the end of the season. Goals have certainly been the problem in recent months, finding them hard to come by, and he would be the answer.

A star in the making.

Ryan – Finally, what’s your prediction for the game? I’m saying Leeds will get revenge with a 3-2 win!

PNEBlog – Well after the crazy 4-6 scoreline at Elland Road back in September it would be typical for this to be a 0 – 0 draw. However, I feel that, after recent performances against some of the top teams in the division, we have it in us to record our first win under Phil Brown and complete the double over a strong Leeds United outfit.

I would be more than happy with a boring 1-0 win; a clean sheet would be a huge boost for the players and the win would be a massive boost for all connected to the club.

Good luck for the rest of the season after Tuesday night guys. Come on you Whites!

Millwall and QPR move level top of the Championship with consecutive wins that leave their goal margin at +7 each. It was a case of newly promoted vs newly demoted at the Den, with last years League One play-off winners destroying Hull City 4-0 in one of those games where it’s unfortunate that they both couldn’t lose. Meanwhile, QPR had things rapped up early against our Yorkshire rivals, Sheffield United with all three of their goals coming in the first 23 minutes of the match.

After a poor start to the campaign, Kevin Blackwell has been sacked by Sheffield United after a humiliating home defeat at the hands of former Blades manager, Neil Warnock.

Barnsley also took all three points beating Palace 1-0 thanks to a McCarthy own goal in the first half. Elsewhere, Donny drew 1-1 at home to Bristol and Middlesbrough’s match away to Leicester ended goalless.

An injury time winner from Grant Holt gave Norwich City their first victory of the season over Scunthorpe United, and the only other team to take all three points today was Swansea who battered Preston 4-0.

Outside the Championship, Leeds United youngster Tom Lees scored in Bury’s 2-1 win over Oxford United.

It’s the exotic seaside resort of Blackpool that will be covering the back pages tomorrow though after they started their Premier League campaign by battering Wigan 4-0. The result didn’t flatter Simon Grayson’s former club either, and in truth, they should have scored more! The problem they may have now however is that few teams are going to underestimate them after that game.

Finally, Jermaine Beckford made his début for Everton coming on as a sub with 20 minutes remaining of their 1-0 defeat away at Blackburn. Becks will be disappointed by his first game in the Premier League as he failed to make an impact and barely got a touch of the ball.

It’s off to Nottingham tomorrow for the Whites who currently find themselves alongside opponents Forest in the relegation zone (might be a bit early to be concerned?). A full preview of that match can be found here.

Hallelujah!

After finally guiding Leeds United out of third tier hell, and despite ‘enticing offers from other clubs’ (Ken Bates’ words, not mine), Simon Grayson has finally put an end to speculation over his future by agreeing a new three year deal with the Whites.

Larry has experienced the same rollercoaster of ups and downs as every Leeds United manager must inevitably face, but in the 18 months he’s been here so far, he’s come out of it smelling like roses almost every time.

Save for a dodgy season end as Leeds United insisted on doing it the hard way, Simon Grayson has got pretty much everything right. Aside from a few ineffective loan signings, his often controversial dealings in the transfer market have plugged all the right holes, allowing Leeds United to finally move forward after almost a decade of demise. Signings like Patrick Kisnorbo and Max Gradel have brought much needed strength and excitement to a team previously void of ideas, with gaping holes in key areas.

Such is the affection Leeds United fans have for Simon Grayson, an ‘In Grayson We Trust’ brigade emerged last season, that firmly believe Larry has what it takes to get us back where we naturally belong. In the life of a football manager, you never know what’s going to happen next and a three year contract is rarely completed. In Simon Grayson however, we have someone that shares the same dreams, enthusiasm and beliefs as everyone on the terraces, and my only hope is, that he’s given the time to prove he can compete amongst the very best.

Simon will have little time to reflect on his achievements so far and celebrate his new contract, with Leeds United on tour in Slovakia at the minute and some more wheeling and dealing in the transfer market still to be completed.

If Bookmakers, Betfair are to be believed, those dealings won’t involve one Gary Hooper who has today been linked with a move to Preston North End. The busy bookmakers have “revealed” (made-up) several rumours regarding Leeds United over the last week or so, with none of them yet to come true, so I doubt Larry will be losing too much sleep.

TSS Forums – Our first pre-season friendly in Slovakia is the subject of a new forum discussion in the all new TSS forums. Click here to join in now.

However much I like Larry, the one thing he has to do this season is secure promotion. An incredible start meant it was ours to lose, and of course, we’re doing our best to make sure things aren’t easy. If he fails at the final hurdle, no matter how close he comes, it simply isn’t close enough. Tough as that may be, he’s in charge of one of the countries biggest clubs and with such a big job, comes big expectations.

The first area Larry addressed was the most obvious one. When Kis went off injured against Millwall, our defence fell to pieces. With Rui still injured, a replacement seemed the best way forward and for that, he turned to Preston North End and their out-of-favour centre-back Neill Collins.

Already, an unhappy and disillusioned Leeds United faithful have been quick to criticise this move due to his lack of success at Preston. I must admit, I have my own reservations too, but if you take a closer look at his history, you’ll see he’s been quite successful elsewhere; most notably, Wolves.

This could be an absolutely disastrous signing, as many of Simon Grayson’s loan signings have been. It’s a signing forged in desperation and adversity, so it’d be no major shock if Collins wasn’t the answer to our prayers. However, I’m feeling quite optimistic about his arrival. He’s a player with an established career at a higher level, desperate to prove his worth and undoubtedly looking to secure a future away from Preston. Only time will tell, but he’s definitely got a lot to play for so shouldn’t need much motivation.

Sticking with the defence, Shane Lowry returns from Aston Villa to fill the troublesome left-back vacancy that has been a constant weakness since Ben Parker was sidelined through injury.

I’ll probably take heavy criticism for this, but I was actually quite impressed with Lowry. He didn’t make the brightest of starts admittedly, but before he returned to Villa injured, he looked like he’d started to gel with the rest of the team and was certainly more successful than Andrew Hughes. Won’t be the most celebrated of signings, but he’s here to fill a void and it was a necessary move on Grayson’s part.

Finally we come to Sanchez Watt who joins us on loan from Arsenal. The Gunners are expecting great things from this youngster who Wenger brought in as a 15-year-old. When it comes to youngsters, no one has a better eye than Arsene Wenger so the young winger may be the one to watch as our season draws to a close.

Coming from Arsenal, he may be just what we need in that he’ll be familiar with passing the ball on the floor (something the rest of the team have clearly forgotten). Watt is also said to have electrifying pace and likes to run at players. Just the attacking threat we needed on the wing then?

A few months ago, the above three signings would have had my mouth watering, but after such incredible flops as Cardiff’s Capaldi, seeing will most definitely be believing as far as I’m concerned. It’s a shame the depth of the squad wasn’t used more when it should have been as a team of Leeds United’s size really shouldn’t have to resort to desperate last minute loan deals.

Going in the other direction is Liam Darville to Rotherham United and Andy Robinson leaves for Tranmere. I guess it was only a matter of time with Robbo, but his move highlights the kind of players we have available to us that have gone unused since Simon Grayson’s arrival. If the loan signings pay-off and we get automatic promotion then you can’t really question Larry’s judgement. However, if the season ends with Leeds United still in League One, the departure of Andy Robinson and David Prutton will be brought under intense scrutiny.  

So, the dice are rolled, jobs are on the line and tens of thousands of supporters expect. No pressure.

Over the years some of the greatest players in the world have played for Leeds United. Unfortunately, so have some of the worst. When it comes to terrible transfer dealings, we’ve had more than our fair share of flops. Here’s a small selection of those badly scouted few that have graced the lush green lawn of Elland Road.

Roque Junior
When word got around that World Cup and Champions League winner, Roque Junior would be joining Leeds on loan from AC Milan, the fans were delighted. The thinking was that such a talented player would be able to help the struggling club climb back up the table and stave off relegation.

Unfortunately for Leeds, Roque simply couldn’t adapt to the English game and it soon became clear as to why AC Milan were so willing to loan him out. Roque made just five appearences for Leeds before we helped him pack and took him to the airport, just to ensure he’d left the city for good. These days, Roque seems to have found his true level at Third Division Montenegrin club, OFK Igalo.

Kevin Nicholls
£700,000 was the fee Leeds coughed up for Kevin Nicholls. Two injuries later, the genius that is Dennis Wise was at the helm of the club and whilst Nicholls was still recovering from his latest injury, Wise pulled a masterstroke by awarding him the club captaincy.

After just an handful of games (13 to be precise), Nicholls stuck two fingers up at the club that had stuck by him through two injuries and awarded him captaincy, by demanding a move back to Luton Town.

If there’s one thing Dennis Wise did do right during his time at Elland Road, it was recouping the money we’d spent on the disgraced midfielder. Wise stubbornly refused to let Nicholls leave unless Luton could come up with what we’d paid for him. When they couldn’t, Preston North End came in and took him off our hands for £750,000. 18 games later, he’d managed to get out of his contract and return to Luton.

Darren Huckerby
At an astonishing £3,000,000 per goal, Darren Huckerby’s 40 appearences for Leeds will be remembered by most as a total failure. As much as the Leeds fans wanted him to do well, he never really found his feet at Elland Road and struggled to force his way into a first team that included Mark Viduka, Alan Smith and Michael Bridges.

After a year and half at the club, Huckerby left for Manchester City where he rediscovered his scoring boots. Although relegated with the team, he stayed on and helped them regain their Premier League status, only to be pushed out of the team by the arrival of Nicolas Anelka.

Huckerby now seems to have retired after finishing his career in the MLS with Californian team, San Jose Earthquakes. In 2008, he was voted the MLS Newcomer of the Year. (Only in America)

For me, Darren Huckerby personifies Leeds United’s transfer dealings around that time. He added nothing to a squad full of talent and his purchase only served to add to the clubs increasing expenditure. When we should have been buying players of sheer quality that could help us take the next step, we bought average footballers fit for a mid-table side.

Paul Okon
A product of the doomed Terry Venables regime, Paul Okon had spent his career moving from club to club and failing to find a permanent place at any of them. After 21 games at Leeds, it became glaringly obvious why. Although he had suffered from injury and was initially lacking match-fitness, time failed to improve the Australian and he was constantly caught out of position and failed to keep up with the pace of Premier League football.

Tomas Brolin
For me, Tomas Brolin is by far the worst signing in the history of Leeds United. Leeds fought off three Italian clubs to secure Brolin’s signature and after a £4,500,000 fee was agreed, the fans were expectant.

Brolin failed to live up to the hype though and the overweight, slow and out of place looking striker made just nineteen appearences for the Whites scoring four goals in the process. Google “worst Premier League transfers” and Brolin will feature prominently in every list you can find, such is the legacy the man left behind.

I’ll end with a quote from one such list. The following comes from The Times Online and tells you all you need to know about the legend that is, Tomas Brolin.

“Hard to imagine that Leeds United, normally a model of fiscal probity, paid £4.5m for the Swedish meatball in 1995. A good footballer treats his body like a temple. Brolin’s was a bouncy castle.”