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Kewell set to leave Leeds: report
Socceroo Harry Kewell is expected to sign with Arsenal this week after reportedly telling Leeds United he does not want to play for manager Peter Reid.
Kewell, 24, joined the Yorkshire club as a teenager but has made it clear he has doubts about Reid's managerial style, British newspaper The Guardian reported.
The Australian expressed his concerns about Reid before the former Sunderland manager was given a full-time contract at Leeds last month, eight matches after taking over from Terry Venables.
Despite offering Kewell a reported STG48,000 ($A120,800)-a-week deal to extend his contract beyond next season, making him the highest paid player in the club's history, Leeds chairman John McKenzie appears to be resigned to Kewell's departure.
McKenzie said Arsenal chairman David Dein expressed interest in Kewell about three weeks ago, although no formal offer was made, and he expected Kewell to begin talks with manager Arsene Wenger within days.
"The main thing now is what Harry wants to do," McKenzie told the Yorkshire Evening Post.
"If he wants Champions League football then he's aware of this official interest from Arsenal and he'll no doubt pursue that.
"I would guess he'll be talking to Arsenal and talking to Arsene Wenger at some stage this week.
"We've done all we can for Harry and we've made what we all consider to be a very good offer. If Harry decides that offer's not good enough and he doesn't want to play for Leeds then that's his choice.
"But we had a good meeting on Friday and nothing has been decided yet. I think Harry wants to assess his various options and there's nothing more we can do until he's done that."
Kewell could go to Highbury on a player-plus cash deal, with Leeds manager Peter Reid expressing an interest in England Under-21 international Jermaine Pennant.
"Pennant is a player Peter Reid is interested in, but it's not as specific as that - a specified exchange is not what we have in mind and Arsenal have not included his name in any dealings with us," McKenzie said.
"The fact remains that we are still looking to keep Harry and hopefully we can reach a deal with him."
It's not 36-nil now Skippy [img]smile.gif[/img]