This summer has seen Leeds United pounce on the perfect market opportunities when identifying signings. This is part of the reason that the club have spent below £35million in the summer.
Leeds have made four signings, and each of them bolster a key area in the team. The bonus is that they all arrived for decent transfer fees. Lukas Nmecha was free, Jaka Bijol cost £15million, Sebastiaan Bornauw cost £5million and Gabriel Gudmundsson cost £10million.
The Whites managed to bring in four players from top clubs in Europe for that amount, showing how impressive their window has been. Three of these deals were from the Bundesliga, where Graeme Bailey recently confirmed that the Red Bull affiliations have given the club an upper hand when it comes to transfers in that region.
Leeds have also stuck to their guns in negotiations; they are unwilling to pay fees they find too expensive – as was the case with Habib Diarra.
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Slavia Prague denies West Ham deal
Credit: Imago Images
West Ham were said to have agreed a move for Slavia Prague star El Hadji Malick Diouf. The left back was also on Leeds’ radar. But the Czech club’s president has denied any deals for his player:
“There was a misunderstanding. There was talk of an offer that we should have rejected, but that information is false,” Tvrdík explained.
“There were two offers on the table, but neither of them exceeded €20m in the basic transfer price. Meanwhile, we have been saying for a long time that the price for Diouf will be just over €20m. And we do not have such an offer yet.
El Hadji Malick Diouf door open for Leeds United
Leeds now have the chance to sign the left back. Now that it has been confirmed that a deal is not in place for the Hammers.
Diouf represents a great market opportunity, he is young and talented and can play at left back – a position Leeds need more options in. He is also available for just £17.26million.
Should the club take a risk?
Leeds have already brought in an experienced left back in Gabriel Gudmundsson. But the Swede does not offer the dynamism and attacking threat Diouf can provide.
Credit: Danishscout
The Senegalese international scored seven goals mainly as a fullback, and sometimes a winger. This kind of talent is rare, and Leeds should evaluate a move for him soon. He could replace Isaac Schmidt, whose agent threatened to leave a few days ago.
