Man Utd and Liverpool in transfer battle for Leeds’ home-grown hero Charlie Cresswell after Prem breakthrough
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LEEDS are fighting to keep home-grown centre-half Charlie Cresswell after his big Premier League breakthrough.
The England Under-21 star is on the radar of top clubs, with Liverpool and Manchester United huge fans since his top-flight debut in September.
Cresswell, 19, is a Leeds supporter and happy to stay but could be at the centre of a tug-of-war by the end of the season.
The Whites have Cresswell under a long-term contract, though he may be one to go if they go down and need to cash in.
The teenager has featured four times in the Premier League this campaign following his start in the 2-1 defeat against West Ham at Elland Road.
He has come off the bench three times after that encounter, with his last outing coming in the 3-2 loss away at Chelsea on December 11.
In addition to his top-flight matches, Cresswell also started the Carabao Cup third round victory over Fulham in September.
Son of former Leeds striker Richard, who represented Leeds between 2005-07, the young defender has also racked up nine Premier League 2 appearances.
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Cresswell is currently out injured having dislocated his shoulder in training prior to their 4-1 defeat against Arsenal.
He is not expected to return to action until either late January or early February.
Marcelo Bielsa commented on the player ahead of their home fixture against Burnley on Sunday.
The Argentine gaffer said: "We've been recovering players - even if [Kalvin] Phillips and [Liam] Cooper will return in March.
"Even if [Jamie] Shackleton and Cresswell will come back at the end of January or the start of February, the number of players we have available has increased."
Speaking earlier this year after signing his new deal, Cresswell labelled himself as a 'leader'.
He told : "I'm confident, I'm a leader, I like to play and I like to head it! My targets for the next few years are obviously to try and get in the first team eventually.
"But in this moment I have got to go in day to day and just push every day to the best of my ability and hopefully that takes me somewhere.”
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