Blackpool linked with summer swoop for Leeds United starlet as summer recruitment plans ramp up ahead of Championship return

Negotiations are underway regarding a permanent move for the young centre-back, according to Football Insider.

It’s been claimed Leeds are willing to let their highly-rated 20-year-old go, despite the versatile defender signing a new three-year contract last summer.

Casey, who can also operate in central midfield, made his senior debut for Leeds off the bench during a game against Huddersfield Town in December 2019.

The defender made two further first-team appearances last season, both coming in cup competitions.

He also turned out for Leeds’ Under-21 side on two occasions in the EFL Trophy, with one of those coming in the 3-0 defeat against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

He has yet to appear for Marcelo Bielsa’s side in the Premier League, but he was named on the subs’ bench on nine occasions last season.

The academy product was linked with a loan move to an EFL club in the January transfer window, but that never materialised.

Pool boss Neil Critchley is thought to be a big admirer of Casey from his time working in youth football with Liverpool’s Under-23s.

Casey becomes the latest player to be linked with the Seasiders ahead of their return to the Championship next season.

Blackpool have already been credited with interest in Sam Lavelle (Morecambe), Shayne Lavery (Linfield), Allan Campbell (Motherwell) and Josh Bowler (Everton) in recent weeks.

There’s also a good chance Critchley’s side will be monitoring their former loanees Dan Ballard, Jordan Gabriel, Elliot Embleton and Ellis Simms.

Speaking about Blackpool’s recruitment plans after the club’s recent victory at Wembley, Critchley said: “That’s an ongoing process throughout the course of the season.

“We’ve got John Stephenson here, the head of football operations, a recruitment team and we have continuous and lengthy dialogue about planning and preparing, which is preparing for pre-season and those plans are practically in place already.

“We know what games we’re playing and where we’re going.

“In terms of recruitment, the plans were already there, but they slightly shift because we’ve gone up a league.

“With the people we’ve got in place and the work we do, we did some good work in the summer and in January, and if we invest in time and the process and the players we’ve already got, then we can give the Championship our best shot next season.”

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