Reports: Bizarre situation brewing over Leeds Rhinos star’s reported major transfer

Halfbacks are getting plenty of focus at Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, Salford Red Devils, Leigh Leopards and Hull FC.

We have already seen it confirmed that Jake Clifford will leave Hull FC to join North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL in 2024.

Meanwhile, there are reports that Wests Tigers are chasing Salford Red Devils star Brodie Croft whilst Canberra Raiders and up to four other clubs are interested in Lachlan Lam at Leigh Leopards.

Croft is tied down till 2030 at Salford whilst Lam is in talks over a new deal at Leigh.

At Wigan, Cade Cust is out of contract and moving to hooker whilst Leeds’ halfbacks are both out of contract in Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer and Sezer is set to leave Leeds according to reports.

He joined Leeds on a two year deal after an impressive stint at Huddersfield Giants being nominated for the Man of Steel in 2020.

His time at Headingley has highlights such as scoring winning tries against Castleford Tigers and Catalans Dragons last year but he has dealt with injuries too.

He did help Leeds reach the Grand Final but had to sit out the final at Old Trafford when a late hit from former Canberra Raiders teammate John Bateman knocked him out ruling him out of the decider with St Helens.

Leeds went on to lose in his absence with Phil Clarke recently suggesting that this was because he couldn’t feature.

Though he has been superb in recent weeks, especially stepping up against Salford Red Devils last week in the absence of Blake Austin, he is headed home.

Now it is being reported down under that a move for Sezer to Wests Tigers has been “pitched.”

So could we see Sezer link up with John Bateman again?

Well according to reports in Australia we certainly could see them back together with Sezer “on the verge” of signing for the Wests Tigers.

Speaking on Triple M’s ‘The Saturday Scrum’, The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read said the “biggest challenge” for the Tigers is getting everyone to agree when it comes to recruitment.

“This is an interesting one because obviously the Tigers have tried every man and his dog in terms of halves,” Read said.

“Shaun Johnson, Mitchell Moses, Cameron Munster, Jack Wighton… they’ve obviously now turned to England because Aidan Sezer and Brodie Croft are the two names being thrown around at the moment. Aidan Sezer is a guy as I understand it that Benji Marshall is quite interested in bringing him back, Brodie Croft as well.

“The benefit of Aidan Sezer I would think is that he would only be a short-term deal while Brodie Croft is looking for a really a long-term deal and apparently the money that is being mentioned in relation to Brodie Croft is quite significant.

“So if they make a play for Brodie Croft they’d have to sign him to a long-term deal, pay a transfer fee and are sort of locked in if things don’t work out. While Aidan Sezer would be a short-term option.”

Now according to the Sydney Morning Herald, tensions have surfaced after Marshall’s manager was prompted to deny suggestions his client was set to benefit from the Tigers’ recruitment of Sezer.

It followed claims from recruitment manager Scott Fulton’s godfather, Peter Peters, that a senior figure at the club was pushing for Sezer as the club’s next recruit due to owning a 15 per cent share in ARIA Management, who represent Marshall.

“Before I go any further I want to declare that Scott Fulton is my godson before people jump on that bandwagon and say I’m just supporting him. I’m not, I’m telling it as I see it,” Peters said on Sydney radio on the weekend.

“Aidan Sezer has been a client of the long-time highly respected manager Sam Ayoub for a long, long time. Currently, the deal with the Tigers, if it goes through, is being organised by another agency (ARIA management).

“I’ve been told today, it’s a bit of a bombshell, that a current high-profile Tigers official is alleged to have 15 per cent share in the company trying to lure Sezer unbeknown to Sam Ayoub, who still thinks he is managing him.”

What this means for Sezer remains unclear.