Leeds United brought in two players in Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach, to strengthen their midfield options for the summer. However, they had other targets in their mind, and the club did make a move for a few other players for that position in the last transfer window.
The Whites only made their move for Longstaff once they lost out on signing Habib Diarra to Sunderland. The former Newcastle midfielder cost them half of what their top target would have, and has been one of the most influential players at the start of the season at Elland Road.
However, it is clear Longstaff is not the only Premier League midfielder Leeds were tracking. Daniel Farke wanted to add more English top-flight experience to their squad during the transfer window.
It has emerged that Leeds did have a serious interest in Abdoulaye Doucoure, who left Everton to join Neom SC in Saudi Arabia on a free transfer in the middle of August.
‘I had interest from Leeds United’ – Doucoure
Doucoure was a key part of the Everton midfield over the last two years. However, the club were happy to let him go in the winter window to free up some wages.
Everton did offer him a new deal, but the midfielder conceded that the offer from Saudi Arabia was significantly higher. He also revealed that clubs such as Sunderland, Leeds and Burnley were also keen to sign him.
However, Doucoure admitted that if he was going to stay in England, he would have prioritised staying at Everton over joining another Premier League club.
“Obviously, I knew my time would come to an end at some point because my wish was always to come to Saudi or the Middle East”, Doucoure told The Athletic.
“And I knew they [Everton] were trying to bring new players.
“I had the proposition on the table from Everton, but the offer from Saudi was much higher. I had a lot of interest from the Premier League. I had a huge proposal from Sunderland as I knew the manager [Regis Le Bris], my former academy coach in France, very well. I had some interest from Leeds and Burnley.
“But if I was staying in England, Everton was my priority. So I didn’t really give an answer to those teams.”
Can you name these 10 former Leeds United midfielders?
