Leeds sign Sam Dalby from Leyton Orient

Leeds United have announced the signing of Leyton Orient’s 18-year-old striker Sam Dalby.

Dalby has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Sky Bet Championship side and will immediately link up with their U23 team.

Director of Football Victor Orta said: “We are pleased to welcome Sam to Leeds United, we believe that he can be an important player for the future.

“He has already tasted League Two and National League football, he is tall and strong, and we are confident that in a couple of years’ time, he can be competing for a place in our first team.

“In the immediate future, Sam will join in with our under-23s, who will help to develop him into the player we believe he can be”.

Dalby made his Orient debut when he was just 16 and scored his first senior goal in a 3-2 win against Crawley in December 2016.

Leeds United transfer news with Edouard Michut ready to become Olivier Dacourt 2.0

Leeds United are still looking to strengthen their squad ahead of the new Championship season on Sunday 6 August, with midfield an area they are targeting.

The Daily Mail reported on 20 July that an approach had been made for Paris Saint-Germain maestro Edouard Michaud, with the Frenchman open to the move.

A French midfielder running the show at Elland Road, where have we heard that before?

Olivier Dacourt was the man in West Yorkshire and was at the heart of the side during that famous Champions League run at the start of the millennium.

Signing from Lens back in 2000 after a brief spell at Everton, Dacourt was part of a famous midfield that included the likes of Lee Bowyer making names for themselves at the very top.

Making 82 appearances for the club before moving on to Roma and Inter Milan, the maestro made his debut for the France national side while with the Whites, and arguably played the best football of his career.

His brief first spell in England only lasted one season at Goodison Park, and that is where the comparisons start with Michut, who spent last season on loan at Sunderland before returning to Paris.

The 20-year-old made 24 appearances in the Championship, only scoring one goal and completing 1129 minutes, an average of 47 minutes per game.

Michut only managed 0.3 shots per game, but he was fouled on average 1.2 times in each outing as he may have struggled to get used to the physicality in a young Sunderland side [WhoScored].

His 87.8% passing success rate catches the eye, and it was even higher the year before at Paris, standing at 94.4% – something that Daniel Farke will very much like.

Sunderland was exciting to watch last season, but Leeds will be expected to dominate even more in the Championship, so imagine what Michut could do in a team like that.

Last season can be used as a catalyst to kick on, just as Dacourt did at Elland Road, and with an approach made making a transfer ready to go if it can be agreed – this one may produce some magic.

Are we seeing the start of Dacourt 2.0?

In other Leeds United news, another player is likely to pass his medical with the club despite previous injury issues.