Orta now working on bizarre transfer for 'magnificent' ace; he has history with Leeds supporters

Leeds United are reportedly looking to sign Derby County attacker Tom Lawrence on a free transfer. 

Lawrence, labelled as ‘magnificent’ by Wayne Rooney, has been with The Rams since 2017 but is out of contact at the end of June.

The Wales international has made 185 appearances for Derby, scoring 37 times and registering 25 assists. He’s played against Leeds on 11 occasions and has been on the losing side seven times.

The 28-year-old also has history with Whites supporters following the club’s playoff semi-final with Derby during the 2018/19 season. Lawrence and a number of his Derby teammates teased the south stand over ‘Spygate’ after they booked their spot at Wembley following a 4-2 win at Elland Road, but it now looks as if Victor Orta is keen to sign the soon to be free-agent.

TEAMtalk shared a story on Thursday morning regarding Lawrence, claiming that Leeds are ‘battling to secure his signature’.

The Derby captain looks set to leave Pride Park following their relegation to League One and is attracting interest from three other Premier League clubs – Bournemouth, Fulham and Southampton

Lawrence has hit double figures for goals in each of the last two Championship seasons in what has been a struggle for Derby both on and off the pitch, however, a move to Elland Road does seem to be a strange one.

Not only does Lawrence have previous with Whites fans, but he’s also primarily a winger. Jesse Marsch currently has a number of wide options and he may even look to implement his preferred narrow formation for his first full season in charge.

Brenden Aaronson’s arrival appears to outline Marsch’s plans for a potential 4-2-2-2 system, so signing a player with just four games of Premier League experience may not go down too