Monday 30 January 2012 15:34, UK
Leeds United could step up their interest in bringing Alan Smith back to his hometown club in the summer.
Smith, 31, has joined League One side MK Dons on loan from Newcastle until the end of the season and Leeds manager Simon Grayson has confirmed he will be monitoring the striker-turned-midfielder's progress. Grayson told the club's official website: "There's been a lot of speculation about us and Alan Smith. The truth is that we discussed the matter more in the summer than now. "We spoke about him many times and weighed up all sorts of things, including the response of the fans. In the end, the reason we didn't move was purely a footballing decision. Alan has been training, but he hasn't been playing games, and that was really the deciding factor. "The MK move will be great for him because the best thing he can do is play games. He's out of contract with Newcastle at the end of the season and we will definitely be keeping an eye on him over the next few weeks and months." Smith, who scored on his debut for Leeds at Liverpool in 1998, upset Whites fans in 2004 when he joined Manchester United for £7million after publicly claiming he could never sign for their arch-rivals.