Why Leeds Should Spend On Signing Jonny Howson This Summer
Championship side Norwich City have reportedly told Leeds United that they will have to stump up at least £5million if they want to re-sign their former midfield player Jonny Howson.
It has emerged that the Carrow Road star has turned down a new contract offer from the Canaries and is believed to be favouring a return to the north. The 29-year-old midfielder joined Norwich from Leeds back in 2012 and has been a fixture in the side, still going strong at this level last season.
Reluctantly though, Norwich are willing to listen to offers for Howson and Leeds may not be the only party interested. However, as long as he is in the Championship, Leeds would undoubtedly be the player’s preferred destination.
Howson would surely welcome a return to Elland Road, the place where he made his professional breakthrough and the move would be hugely popular among fans in West Yorkshire. Howson has played nearly 200 times for Norwich City since leaving Leeds and was their player of the year in 2016.
Howson is not thought to be on Norwich Sporting Director Stuart Webber’s list of players deemed surplus to requirements, nor was he originally on Leeds’ own wishlist given that he was thought to be unavailable, with the Canaries not willing to let him go, as he has become a real option for Thomas Christiansen.
Would it be worth it for Leeds to pay £5million for a 29-year-old at this level? I fully believe it would be. Howson would bring true commitment; it should not be underestimated how much more you can get out of a player when they truly, deeply believe in the cause and as a Leeds man if you like, Howson would offer this sort of commitment.
His quality is that of a £5million player too. In 37 Championship starts last season his form level remained high. 27 of his starts came in the defensive midfield position and yet despite this, he contributed 6 goals and 7 assists to the cause. Making 1.7 tackles and 1.2 blocks per game on average, Howson’s defensive skills were in evidence all year and with a pass completion rate of almost 78% he does not often give the ball away.
Scoring 6 goals from just over 40 shots at goal for a midfielder is an excellent rate too and he has proven himself to be an all-round midfield player. £5million seems like a lot, but should Leeds grab some bargains elsewhere in their player hunt this summer then the big picture will probably show that this would be value for money.