Spanish loan move on the table for Leeds United and Northern Ireland midfielder Alfie McCalmont
The Northern Ireland midfielder, who recently penned a new four-year deal at Elland Road, has a loan offer on the table from Unión Deportiva Ibiza that is currently under consideration.
A regular for the Under 23s for the last two seasons, McCalmont made his debut for the Whites a year ago in the Carabao Cup win over Salford City and featured in the following round against Stoke City at Elland Road.
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Hide AdBut a Championship appearance for Marcelo Bielsa’s first team was not forthcoming, despite being included in the matchday squad on several occasions and making a senior debut at international level for Northern Ireland against Luxembourg in a Windsor Park friendly.
The 20-year-old, in the mould of first team regular and fellow Thorp Arch academy graduate Kalvin Phillips, wants to play senior football and is one of a number of young players the Whites are considering sending out on loan – Robbie Gotts has a move to Huddersfield Town in the pipeline and awaiting Bielsa’s seal of approval, with a number of League One clubs also interested.
UD Ibiza finished second in last season’s Segunda Division B Group 1 but lost in the play-offs.
They also reached the last 32 of the Copa del Rey, losing 2-1 to Barcelona.
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Hide AdLast summer they signed Alejandro Machuca from Leeds in a permanent deal and Watford’s Kwasi Sibo who has signed for a second season on loan.
McCalmont spent his summer holiday on the the Balearic island after celebrating Leeds United’s promotion to the Premier League.
He wasn’t named in the Northern Ireland squad for next month’s Nations League games but is expected to be involved with the Under 21s.
This week he dismissed a claim from a social media user that he had been tempted to switch allegiance to the Republic of Ireland, tweeting: “What a load of rubbish.”