Leeds United have already signed Harry Wilson on a free transfer and are on the verge of completing a blockbuster deal to secure the signature of Tarik Muharemovic.
The Whites showed just how serious they are about backing Daniel Farke by agreeing a £34m deal with Sassuolo for 23-year-old Bosnian centre-back Tarik Muharemovic ahead of their Premier League return.
He is set to sign a lucrative five-year contract and will become Leeds’ highest-paid player once the transfer is officially completed.
They have splashed the cash on the centre-back. However, they are still in the market for an attacking midfielder and could now have a chance to sign a player they coveted last summer.
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Leeds United target from last summer pushing for exit
The Whites are still in the market for an attacking midfielder, and Julian Brandt seems to have emerged as the club’s priority target this summer.
He has attracted interest from Italy, but is likely on his way to the Premier League amid a serious push from Leeds to sign him.
However, Leeds are not the only Premier League club chasing him, and if they miss out on the 30-year-old, they could do worse than revive their interest in a player they wanted last summer.
Bilal El Khannouss was Leeds’ top target last summer, and the club offered him a lucrative contract to consider a move to Elland Road.
They were also prepared to trigger his release clause to snare him away from Leicester.
However, the Moroccan chose to move to Germany, where VfB Stuttgart signed him on loan with an obligation to buy for £17m.
The German club have signed him on a permanent deal, but according to Sky Deutschland, El Khannouss wants to leave Stuttgart after just one season.
While no transfer request has been submitted, he has told some of his close friends that he wants to leave Stuttgart in the ongoing window.
The Bundesliga club do not want to lose him, and are unlikely to entertain any offers unless they are too big to ignore.
Will Leeds move for Bilal El Khannouss?
Leeds signed Harry Wilson after missing out on him last summer, and there is no reason why they can’t revive their interest in El Khannouss.
The Whites held extensive talks with the player and his camp and were confident of signing him from Leicester, until the player decided to move to Germany.
However, the 49ers will have to gamble big, as Leeds may have to smash their transfer record if they have to convince Stuttgart to let him go this summer.
Leeds are already set to spend big on Tarik Muharemovic, and offering big money on another player could be too big an ask for the Whites this summer.
Leeds still need to strengthen in the No. 10 role, but Julian Brandt appears to be a far more realistic target than Bilal El Khannouss, whose price tag could prove too expensive for the Whites.
He would be an unbelievable signing, Farke was correct to push so hard to get him. However, based on his WC exploits for Morocco, I suspect the bidding will start at around the 50 million mark. We have missed the boat on him.
Julian Brandt, still chasing, don’t you think reason for other clubs pulling out, are probably high wage demands?
Spot on. Dusan Vlahovic is a perfect CF for us and available on a free. He still available as I believe Juventus couldn’t afford the wages he was demanding and neither can anyone else. Brandt will be the same.