BREAKING NEWS: Leeds united board revealed details actions concerning Southampton summer signing

Leeds United and Southampton haven’t had the best starts to the 2023-24 season, despite being two of the favorites for promotion to the Premier League.

The Saints are on a four-match losing streak in league play and have begun to slip down the standings, whereas the Whites are gradually but steadily climbing the ladder under Daniel Farke and are unbeaten in six Championship games.
Russell Martin’s team and Manchester United competed for numerous players this summer, and while Leeds won the race for one player in particular, Joel Piroe, they also lost out on others.

Ryan Manning was extensively linked with the Whites before returning to St Mary’s Stadium to reunite with Martin, while Man City centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis was also a player of interest to Farke before joining the Saints on transfer deadline day.

Leeds United trialed which Southampton player this summer?
Leeds did, however, send a player on trial who went on to join Russell Martin at Southampton, and that man is Joe Lumley.

According to The Athletic, goalkeeper Lumley joined United during pre-season in an attempt to secure a contract at Elland Road, presumably as a back-up goalkeeper, despite the fact that Illan Meslier’s future was unknown at the time.

Of course, Lumley did not sign for Leeds, and it is unknown whether he was even offered anything, but he did sign a one-year deal with the Saints in early August, where he is currently third choice behind Gavin Bazunu and Alex McCarthy.

That is exactly where he would have been at Leeds, with Meslier and new signing Karl Darlow vying for a place in Farke’s starting 11.

Who exactly is Joe Lumley? Did he make the correct decision by moving to Southampton?

The 28-year-old goalkeeper has spent the majority of his career at Queens Park Rangers, but he was loaned out to six different clubs between 2014 and 2018, advancing from the National League South to League One during that time.

Lumley was the Hoops’ first-choice goalkeeper in 2018-19, but two years later, he was back on loan in League One, this time to Gillingham and Doncaster Rovers.

He joined Middlesbrough in 2021 and, perhaps surprisingly, was the number one for much of the 2021-22 season, but was eventually discarded in the latter stages and spent the next season on loan at Reading.

Lumley was seventh in the Championship in terms of goals conceded per 90 minutes while at the Royals last season, according to FBRef, and second from worst in terms of clean sheets held.

Regardless, Southampton wanted him as a backup option – but should he have set his sights on League One for regular football?

There might have been clubs that would have accepted Lumley at that level, but he’ll be making a fair pay just to be training with the Saints, so it’s difficult to say he made the wrong decision at the age of 28.