Experienced defender Liam Cooper is set to leave Leeds United this summer, according to a journalist in the Middle East. The 31-year-old has been at Elland Road since 2014, but looks set to finally bid farewell to the Yorkshire club.
Where is Liam Cooper going?
Cooper is set to end his nine-year stay at Leeds this summer, with an agreement reached on personal terms with Saudi Arabian club Al-Qadisiyah, according to journalist Abu Faisal, via MOT Leeds News.
The defender is set to leave after an impressive nine years, which featured a promotion back to the Premier League in the 2019/20 season, before the Yorkshire club ultimately suffered relegation back down to the Championship at the end of the previous campaign.
Now back in England's second tier, it looks as though Leeds will have to earn promotion at the first time of asking without the experience of Cooper in their side.
The veteran defender has agreed to join Al-Qadisiyah after the club finished 11th in the Saudi First Division – Saudi Arabia's second tier – last season, and has the job of taking them far closer to promotion.
Cooper will, of course, join up with Premier League legend Robbie Fowler if he completes the move this summer. The former Leeds and Liverpool forward has taken up the managerial role at the club.
How can Leeds replace Liam Cooper?
Replacing Cooper's experience won't be easy, but when it comes to the work done on the pitch, the defender only made 18 league appearances for the Yorkshire club last season, so his impact in the side could certainly be replicated by others.
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Karl Robinson believed that Cooper looked ready and willing to take Leeds back to the Premier League recently, telling TalkSport, via Leeds Live: “I tell you what, you’ve got Luke Ayling, you’ve got Liam Cooper, you’ve got Stuart Dallas, Patrick Bamford, just really good lads who have obviously been promoted with them, felt the pain of the relegation.
“At the end of the game against Tottenham, Liam Cooper’s stood up and everyone was down and a little bit struggling with what’s just happened and he actually said a few words.
“And I thought to myself, do you know what, there’s a proper man, someone who literally said, ‘If you don’t want to be here next year, don’t come back.’
“I sort of looked at him and you could see there was a steeliness in his eyes that he was so determined to drag Leeds United back to the Premier League.”
Perhaps summing up the Scotland international's leadership qualities more than anything, Robinson's quotes make it clear that Leeds will miss Cooper's presence in the dressing room.
On the pitch, it could come down to young players to step up and make their mark, particularly Charlie Cresswell.
The 20-year-old spent last season on loan in the Championship at Millwall, so already carries plenty of experience in England's second division. After missing out on a play-off place with the London club on the final day of last season, too, Cresswell will be keen to make up for that failure by securing promotion at Elland Road in the coming campaign.
