Eddie Nketiah is ‘currently weighing up several loan options as he contemplates which club is best to see out the season at’ after leaving Leeds United this week, according to Bristol Live.
The newspaper had previously claimed that Sheffield Wednesday were one of the sides keen on a deal for the Arsenal striker, along with Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Bristol City – the apparent favourites.
But it has now been suggested that the latter club’s chances could be impacted by one of their players’ ‘fading relationship’ with the manager Lee Johnson, who missed out to Leeds at the start of the campaign.
Nketiah is said to share ‘several mutual friends and acquaintances’ with the player in question, Kasey Palmer, having also spent time in Chelsea’s youth ranks.
And according to Bristol Live, Nketiah has spoken to Palmer ‘to find out what life is like at Ashton Gate and how Johnson likes to operate’.
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The Bristol City attacking midfielder has himself been linked with a move to Wednesday before now, although it is another of the Owls’ promotion rivals, Swansea City, who are currently being credited with an interest, along with Crystal Palace.
Palmer was omitted from Johnson’s squad for Wednesday’s 4-0 defeat against Brentford, and the newspaper has stated that he is not opposed to leaving the Robins if the boss ‘continues to give him the cold shoulder treatment and does not believe in him’.
It is the understanding of Bristol Live that Palmer feels singled out by Johnson, with whom he has had ‘several disagreements’ relating to on- and off-field matters.
Nketiah in action for Leeds against Wednesday. (Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Regarding Nketiah’s next club, Sheffield Wednesday may have a convincing argument to present.
Unlike Brentford and Nottingham Forest, the Owls have often played with two orthodox strikers throughout the season, increasing Nketiah’s chances of securing the regular game time he failed to at Leeds.
The Wednesday manager Garry Monk also boasts an impressive track record of improving the goal returns of his centre forwards, such as Chris Wood (Leeds), Che Adams (Birmingham City) and Steven Fletcher, who has already found the net more times this season than in his previous three Hillsborough campaigns.
