Brian McDermott admits possible Leeds United return for Max Gradel

Leeds United manager Brian McDermott has admitted that the club are looking into the possibility of bringing back Max Gradel to the club, but told fans to not get too excited at the thought.

Gradel was hugely popular with the Elland Road faithful before he was sold to Saint-Etienne in August 2011. He has suffered knee problems since moving to France and McDermott does have concerns that the 26-year-old Ivorian will not return as the same player who left.

"Max Gradel would be on a list of players we like, no doubt about that," McDermott told the Yorkshire Evening Post. "But he plays for Saint-Etienne and he's been unfortunate with a couple of operations. What you can't do is go on sentiment. Sometimes that's dangerous.

"You can't look back and say he was this player two years ago. Things change, people move on. When you bring someone in, you've got to make sure they're absolutely spot on for what we're trying to do now."

Gradel has scored 11 goals in 58 Ligue 1 games for Saint-Etienne.