Roofe leaves Leeds for Anderlecht in £7m transfer

Nicholas McGee

Roofe leaves Leeds for Anderlecht in £7m transfer image

Kemar Roofe has sealed a £7million move to Anderlecht from Leeds.

The forward leaves Elland Road after three years and will play under new coach Vincent Kompany at the Belgian giants.

Roofe, who played a key role in Marcelo Bielsa's side's promotion push last term, has signed a three-year deal.

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Anderlecht sports director Michael Verschueren told the club's official website : "We were looking for an attacker like Kemar for quite a while now. He's a true goal-getter who will be a great asset to our team."

Roofe, meanwhile, posted a heartfelt farewell message to Leeds fans on Instagram .

“Thank you Leeds United for an incredible three years,” Roofe said.

“The support I’ve got from the fans since day one has been unbelievable.

“I have absolutely no doubt that you will be back in the Premier League where you have always belonged very soon.

“It’s what you all deserve. Despite having some unfortunate injuries, I always gave my all for the shirt, and Leeds will always have a place in my heart #MOT”

The attacker scored 15 goals in 33 Championship games last season, however, he suffered a knee injury in February, missing a crucial two months which coincided with Leeds slipping out of the automatic promotion spots and into the play-off places.

They were then beaten by Derby County, who lost the play-off final at Wembley to Aston Villa.

Leeds have been linked with Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah and Liverpool's Ryan Kent as potential replacements.

Bielsa has asked for Reds youngster Kent following Roofe's switch and Goal has learned that talks are progressing well over a deal worth an initial £7m .

The winger spent last season on loan at Rangers under Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard though Jurgen Klopp has ruled out another temporary switch and is willing to let the 22-year-old leave permanently.

While Leeds will be confident of landing Kent, they face competition from Bristol City and German side Fortuna Dusseldorf for Nketiah.

Director of football Victor Orta is pushing hard to land the 20-year-old and Leeds are hoping his relationship with Arsenal head coach Unai Emery and the offer of first-team football could prove decisive.

Nicholas McGee