Cook set to depart as Roofe begins to settle in

Kemar Roofe says Leeds United are a club with a great history and a bright future as well.

Leeds United were last night on the verge of selling midfielder Lewis Cook to Bournemouth.

The 19-year-old, the Football League’s player of the year, is expected to fly home from United’s pre-season tour of Ireland to complete the deal.

Leeds resisted persistent interest from the Premier League club in January, but United owner Massimo Cellino is ready to take a fee that will rise from around £6m.

Head coach Garry Monk had taken Cook with him on tour to Ireland after asking the teenager to miss this summer’s European Under-19 Championship.

The news came at the end of a day that had seen Oxford United striker Kemar Roofe join the Whites in a deal worth close to £3m. The 23-year-old, whose eye-catching exploits with the U’s last season led to him being named League Two player of the year, has signed a four-year deal.

He became Leeds’s third signing in the space of just 12 hours and the fourth in a week.

The arrival of Roofe, who fired 26 goals for Oxford in their promotion season, follows on from the season-long loan signing of Swansea City midfielder Matt Grimes, 20, and the capture of ex-England goalkeeper Robert Green, 36, a free agent after leaving QPR, on a one-year deal.

At the start of the week, United also sealed the loan signing of Sporting Lisbon winger Hadi Sacko for the 2016-17 campaign.

Roofe had been monitored by several clubs last season, including Hull City, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest, following an outstanding year at Oxford.

Roofe said: “As soon as I found out, I was really pleased to be a part of a club like this.

“The club has a great history and a bright future as well.

“You can tell there is something exciting happening here with the signings we are making – they are all good signings.

“I like to be entertaining and play football how I would like to watch football.

“The fans want to be entertained, see creative play and goals.”

Owner Cellino has vowed to hold on to left-back Charlie Taylor, despite revealing his frustration regarding his failure to sign a new deal.

Taylor, 22, will be out of contract next summer and has been linked with several top-flight sides including Burnley, West Brom and Middlesbrough.