Leeds United are pressing ahead with their attempts to bring in a few new signings before pre-season begins in a few weeks.
The Whites have offered a big pay rise to convince Harry Wilson to move to Elland Road on a free transfer and have held positive talks with his representatives.
Leeds are also working on a deal to sign Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder Julian Brandt and hope to convince him to pick the Premier League despite interest from Champions League clubs in Europe.
The club are also working on a deal to sign Shea Charles. However, Southampton rejected their first bid, and their financial expectations are steeper than previously expected.
Read More: Shea Charles is pushing for a move to Leeds United
Leeds may have to pay a club-record fee for Shea Charles
Shea Charles wants to leave Southampton this summer and is pushing for a move to Elland Road amid interest from other clubs.
While Southampton rejected Leeds’ initial £20m offer this week, there were suggestions that the negotiations are ongoing and an agreement could be reached soon.
However, according to Football Insider, Southampton’s financial expectations for a deal are likely to be a major stumbling block.
It has been claimed Leeds may have to fork out a club-record fee to sign Charles from the Championship club in the ongoing transfer window.
The noises coming out of St. Mary’s suggest that Southampton want a fee that would see Leeds smash their transfer record this summer.
The £35.5m Leeds paid for Georginio Rutter in 2023 remains the biggest fee they forked out for a player to date.
However, Southampton’s hard bargaining stance may force Leeds to smash that record if they really want to take Charles to Elland Road in the ongoing transfer window.
Leeds will be paying for an inflated midfield market
Shea Charles has a year left on his contract at a Championship club, and on any other summer, £20m would have been good enough for a Premier League club.
But not this year, when the market for midfielders has been needlessly inflated by clubs willing to pay big transfer fees for players even in the Championship.
Elliott Anderson is likely to end up at Manchester City for a fee in the region of £130m. However, it’s the race for Mateus Fernandes that could encourage Southampton to dig their heels in.
West Ham’s relegation should have meant that the Portuguese would have left for a transfer fee less than his market value.
However, the Hammers are demanding a massive £85m for his sale amid interest from Manchester United, Tottenham, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
This is now having an impact lower down the pecking order, where Shea Charles’ value has suddenly inflated despite Southampton’s failure to earn promotion and his contract status.
If this is true move on Leeds. Southampton are living in cloud cuckoo land if they think he is worth 35 million.