Leeds United

Windass going nowhere - Duffen
Hull City chairman Paul Duffen has denied claims striker Dean Windass is on the verge of a loan move to League One side Leeds United. A source close to the Tigers claimed the 39-year-old would complete a move to Elland Road on Thursday afternoon. However, Duffen told Radio Humberside: "No approach has been made by Leeds United to anyone at the football club. "It's a complete non-story and definitely not happening." Windass is believed to have rejected approaches from Oldham and Doncaster and stated on his online blog earlier this week that he had held brief talks with Leeds boss Gary McAllister. Meanwhile, the West Yorkshire club are also denying the reports and have told BBC Radio Leeds that they are "happy with the squad" and "not looking to add to it in the immediate term". The veteran held talks with Hull boss Phil Brown in September about his future at the KC Stadium after slipping down the pecking order following the summer arrivals of Marlon King, Daniel Cousin and Geovanni. And his cause has not been helped by the Tigers' stunning start to life in the Premier League, which has seen them take 20 points from their first 10 games to sit in fifth place. Windass scored 15 goals as Hull won promotion via the Championship play-offs last season, including the winner in the final against Bristol City. But he has started only one game this season - the Tigers' Carling Cup defeat at Swansea in August in which he scored - and made just two substitute appearances against Wigan and Chelsea in the Premier League.

McAllister dismisses Windass move
Gary McAllister has quashed persistent rumours that veteran striker Dean Windass is about to join Leeds on loan. Windass, 39, frustrated by his lack of first-team football with Hull City, played in a friendly at Leeds' Thorp Arch training ground last week. But Leeds boss McAllister said he was simply doing an old mate a favour. "Dean is a good pal of mine and I've known him for years," he told BBC Leeds. "If we strengthen, then it'll be in other areas of the park." McAllister did admit, however, that even in his 40th year, the man who famously fired Hull to the Premier League in May still has plenty to offer. "He was playing in a behind-closed-doors game at Thorp Arch and the following day he was in watching his son, so we've seen him quite a bit in the last week or so," said McAllister. "And, for somebody of his age, he still looks in fantastic condition." Hull chairman Paul Duffen denied late last week that Windass might join the eighth club, and a sixth in Yorkshire, of his long, illustrious career. Duffen told BBC Radio Humberside: "No approach has been made by Leeds United to anyone at the football club. "It's a complete non-story and definitely not happening." Windass, who is believed to have rejected approaches from Oldham and Doncaster, stated last week on his own on-line blog that he had held brief talks with McAllister. After slipping down the pecking order at the KC Stadium following the summer arrivals of Marlon King, Daniel Cousin and Geovanni, Windass had talks about his future with Hull boss Phil Brown in September. His cause has not been helped by the Tigers' stunning start to life in the Premier League, which saw them take 20 points from their first 10 games. Windass scored 15 goals as Hull won promotion via the Championship play-offs last season, including the winner in the final against Bristol City. But he has started only one game this season - August's Carling Cup defeat at Swansea, in which he scored - and made just two substitute appearances against Wigan and Chelsea.

Leeds set for Christie decision
Leeds United manager Gary McAllister is close to making a decision on striker Malcolm Christie. The former Middlesbrough forward, 29, is without a club and has been training with Leeds to regain full fitness. McAllister told Radio Leeds: "I've watched him play three games for us and he's now fit. "He's made me think now and there is a decision for me make about him now. I'm paying a lot of attention to that one at the moment." Former Derby striker Christie has been without a club since leaving Boro in May 2007 Meanwhile the Leeds boss has dismissed newspaper reports linking them with a move for Preston midfielder Simon Whaley.

McAllister in talks with Christie
Leeds manager Gary McAllister is in talks with Malcolm Christie's agent over a possible deal to bring the striker to Elland Road. The 29-year-old is without a club and has been training with United in a bid to regain full fitness. McAllister told Radio Leeds: "We're talking to Malcolm and his agent now so we'll see what they're looking for. "He's a player that's been here - we've helped him get back to where he is and we're in discussions."

Leeds rocked by Beckford injury
Leeds United have been hit with an injury blow to leading scorer Jermaine Beckford, who could be out for a month. The 24-year-old striker tore his hamstring towards the end of the Tuesday's defeat at Northampton. Manager Gary McAllister told the club's official website: "It's a big blow, to score 19 goals in 24 matches at any level is fantastic. "We're giving it a week to settle before he has any scans, but at the moment it's not looking good." Beckford scored Leeds' equaliser in the 2-1 defeat at Sixfields - his sixth goal in three games - but had to be helped from the field with 11 minutes to go. He will definitely miss Sunday's FA Cup second round tie at Histon, but could also be out for the busy Christmas period. McAllister said: "They feel it might be a grade two which can be anything from two-to-six weeks but he's a fit lad and that's a big thing. "He's a quick healer, but we'll let it settle down before he has any scans because at the moment there will be a bit of stress in that area because of the tear. "We'll let it settle and I would think a minimum of three or four weeks. "He is a big loss. His performance levels has moved up this season. He is a finisher and he scores all different types. "After last season's goal-scoring exploits, he has backed it up this season. He wants to beat his tally and it's looking good."

Showunmi suffers lung blood clot
Leeds United striker Enoch Showunmi could be out for the rest of the season after suffering a blood clot on his lung shortly before Christmas. A statement issued on the club's website said Showunmi has made a full recovery but will not be available for selection in the near future. The 26-year-old has scored five goals for United this season after joining the club from Bristol City in July. His last appearance was as a substitute in December's 3-1 defeat at MK Dons.

Leeds reject approaches for Delph
Leeds United chairman Ken Bates has revealed that the club have rejected approaches for highly-rated teenage midfielder Fabian Delph. Bates claims that two Premier League clubs have enquired about Delph, 19. He told the club website: "We don't want to sell Fabian. He's happy and we're happy Fabian stays. "Unless something unexpected and out of the blue happens, which we can't forecast, we want him to take us back into the Premier League." "We explained to both clubs that we don't deal in petty cash and they were Premiership clubs as well." The chairman also reiterated that there could be more players leaving and arriving at Elland Road after the triple loan signing of Bristol City striker Lee Trundle, Ipswich Town centre-back Richard Naylor and Stoke City left-back Carl Dickinson. "We've always said we would need to strengthen our defence in January," Bates said. "By taking players on loan we're solving the immediate problem and it gives us time to assess their capabilities, and look at players here who may be surplus to requirements, before making any permanent decisions. "This gives us the best of both worlds."

New injury setback for Huntington
Leeds United defender Paul Huntington has been ruled out for at least another two months. The 21-year-old former Newcastle man has not played since September because of a groin injury and underwent another operation on the problem last week. United manager Simon Grayson told Radio Leeds: "He was recovering and had a week's training with us again but had a setback. "So he's now undergone surgery and will be out for a couple of months again." Grayson has also confirmed captain Frazer Richardson will miss Tuesday night's game with Southend United because of a continuing leg injury. Paul Telfer is also still sidelined after pulling his hamstring in a reserve game last week.

Beckford escapes extra punishment
Leeds United's Jermaine Beckford will not face any further punishment for an incident in Monday's win over Millwall. The striker appeared to elbow Millwall goalkeeper David Forde and was shown a yellow card for the foul at the time. The FA's disciplinary department have confirmed to Radio Leeds there is no facility to take retrospective action against Beckford, as directed by Fifa. Because the incident was dealt with by referee Alan Wiley on the night, no further measures will be taken. The decision will come as a relief to United manager Simon Grayson, who acclaimed the return to form of his main striker after the game. Beckford scored both goals in the 2-0 win at Elland Road to take his goal tally for the season to 23. Grayson said: "That's Jermaine for you, he can show glimpse of top draw quaility and that's why he has so many goals already this season. "He is a major asset to the the team and I'm delighted to have him here. "Hopefully he score many more like that in the reminder of the season."

Grayson still chasing play-offs
Leeds boss Simon Grayson insists the League One play-offs are still attainable - if his squad toughen up. Tuesday's defeat at Hereford left them four points adrift of the top six. Grayson told Radio Leeds: "We've lost the last two which is disappointing but there's still a lot of matches to be played. "There's no reason we can't go on a run and make sure we get into the play-offs because there's plenty of games and I expect a response at the weekend." Grayson was angered by his side's display in the 2-0 defeat at Edgar Street and has demanded that his players show more an improvement or risk being shipped out. "We've got to use this result as an inspiration until the end of the season because performances like that are unacceptable," he said. "You can lose games in a certain manner but tonight was unacceptable. "We didn't play with any quality and decision making was poor, and that's from a team that played very well at the weekend and been on a decent run. "I'm not going to criticise individuals or the players because that's not my style but we've had words and the players accepted what's happened today. "Hopefully now they'll use that as inspiration from now until the end of the season because if they don't then one or two might not play for the club again."

Grayson hails Somma
In-form striker Davide Somma earned the praise of manager Simon Grayson after Leeds moved into fifth place with a 1-0 win over Coventry. South Africa international Somma netted after 56 minutes, his second decisive goal of the week after he earned Leeds a 2-2 draw at Hull on Tuesday night. Having ended last season on loan with League Two Lincoln, he has now scored 10 goals from as many npower Championship starts and his manager is delighted with his progress. "He's done brilliant to be fair," Grayson said. "We sent him out on loan last season, he started this season with a bang and then he was out of the team because of the formation we were playing, but he's scored whenever he's come off the bench. "He's still got a lot more work to do with his overall play, but he's certainly got that one thing that a striker lives off and that's knowing where the back of the net is. "He can shoot with both feet, he's strong, he works hard and he's got all the right ingredients. But to go from League Two to the Championship in half a season shows what the lad is capable of and I'm delighted we've got him."

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