Grayson:“Paddy recognises the loyalty we’ve shown in him,”

Patrick Kisnorbo was poised to resume training with Leeds United today, with boss Simon Grayson insisting the defender is happy with his contractual arrangement.Kisnorbo was due at United’s Thorp Arch training ground this morning after a weekend dominated by talk of rival interest in the Australian international.
Crystal Palace are rumoured to be lining up an offer for the centre-back, whose two-year contract at Elland Road expired last Thursday, and have joined Brighton in tracking the 30-year-old.
Leeds offered Kisnorbo a short-term deal at the start of the summer and want him to prove his fitness after a 13-month fight against a ruptured Achilles tendon.Grayson, however, wants to tie the defender to a longer deal at the end of pre-season and United’s manager said Kisnorbo, who is technically a free agent, had no complaint with the club’s approach.

“Paddy recognises the loyalty we’ve shown in him,” Grayson said. “He realises we can’t afford to take a punt on a two-year contract, and neither can any other team. When a player’s been out for as long as he has, you can’t run that risk – unless you’ve got bundles of cash and you’re not worried about losing X-amount off your budget.

“Paddy’s aware of that and that’s why it’s all been very open. If he proves his fitness then there’ll be a deal to be done, I’m sure of it.”

Grayson plans to involve Kisnorbo in United’s friendlies and expects to have the Australian fit and available for the start of the Championship term.

“If everything goes to plan and he doesn’t have any setbacks then I see him being involved in the whole of pre-season,” Grayson stressed