A fresh twist has emerged in the race for Norwich City’s Jon Rowe amid interest from Leeds United and Olympique Marseille this summer, with the French giants pulling out of the race.
French outlet L’Equipe are suggesting that Marseille see the deal as too complex to be involved in. The Ligue 1 outfit are also on the verge of adding an attacker to their ranks, with Elye Wahi set for a medical ahead of a €25m switch, per Fabrizio Romano.
News of the potential switch to West Yorkshire came via John Percy of The Telegraph, who claimed that Leeds opened up negotiations with an offer of £7 million for Rowe, but that was expected to be knocked back straight away by Norwich. Rowe enjoyed his real breakout campaign for the Canaries last year, featuring in 38 games for the Norfolk outfit.
He notched 13 goals and four assists, albeit the majority of those came by January after injury struck him down for the majority of the second half of the campaign. His first half of the year was excellent; therefore, it comes as no surprise that Rowe is on the radar of some high level clubs, including their league rivals Leeds.
Rowe is wanted by a host of clubs this summer, and the Eastern Daily Press have reported that the 21-year-old is wanted by Marseille, Leeds United and other unnamed Premier League clubs, so it appears the Canaries have a battle on their hands to keep him – especially as he withdrew from contention to play in their opening match of the Championship season against Oxford United.
Norwich are said to have set a £15 million asking price for his services, as per Football Insider. Leeds are prepared to increase their offer in an attempt to sign him, with Sky Sports reporting that negotiations for the player are ongoing at this point.
Sky Sports (Transfer Centre Live – 09/08, 22:44) have also reported that Marseille’s opening bid, much like Leeds’, is short of the Canaries’ valuation, but that talks were set to continue between the two clubs, although this development from L’Equipe has suggested a move to France looks “complex” as things stand.
No move is forthcoming yet, but Rowe pulled himself out of the squad for Norwich’s clash with Oxford United on Saturday, perhaps highlighting his willingness to leave the club. He is now said to be training with their U-21 side until a resolution is found.
Now, it appears as though Leeds have received a huge potential boost in their pursuit of Rowe, with reports from France suggesting their main rivals could back down, per L’Equipe. Not only that, but after Marseille had an offer rejected for the player, it seems Leeds are looking to step in.
That’s after TEAMtalk claimed that they are expected to make a fresh attempt to land Rowe, with an offer set to be submitted to Norwich for the 21-year-old. The update adds that the offer is expected to exceed £10 million, although it’s not yet clear whether it will be close enough to the £15 million that Norwich want for their exciting attacker.
