Leeds United beat Sunderland 1-0 in New Jersey on Thursday night, and behind the scenes, the club’s recruitment team are ramping up their efforts to make more quality additions to their squad.
Tarik Muhamerovic showed against Sunderland that Leeds were right to spend £34m to sign him from Sassuolo, and Harry Wilson has also shown flashes of quality in the first two pre-season games.
Leeds hope to finalise an agreement for the signature of Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford, but the deal is taking some time to get over the line.
The Whites are also looking to strengthen their midfield and have been assessing several potential targets as they weigh up their options in the transfer market.
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Daniel Farke wants to bring in midfield upgrades despite the adequate numbers in that area of the Leeds United squad.
The pursuit of Julian Brandt shows that the Leeds boss feels the need for more creativity in the middle of the park. However, he also wants a defensive midfielder.
Southampton’s Shea Charles has been the player Farke wants. However, negotiations between the two clubs have not been straightforward.
Leeds drew a line in the sand recently after tabling their third offer and insisted that they won’t be improving on that bid.
Charles wants to join Leeds and has told Southampton that he wants to leave the club. However, the increasing asking price could make a deal difficult to complete.
However, selling him still makes more sense to Southampton, and the midfielder was left out of their pre-season friendly against Paderborn this week.
Charles is being protected as Southampton are aware that this is the last summer where they can get any significant offers for him.
He is in the final year of his contract and is pushing for a move to Elland Road in the ongoing window.
Leeds can still sign Shea Charles this summer
Leeds United are standing firm in their valuation of Shea Charles and have no intention of matching Southampton’s £30m asking price this summer.
That has not diminished their interest, though. The Whites are happy to play the waiting game, convinced the situation could change as the transfer window moves on, especially after Charles made it clear he wants to leave St Mary’s.
Southampton are also facing a difficult decision. With the midfielder entering the final year of his contract, this is likely to be their best chance to command a significant transfer fee. If no club is prepared to meet their valuation, they may eventually have to lower their demands.
Charles is believed to be keen on a move to Elland Road, and Leeds are hopeful his desire to leave will increase the pressure on Southampton to compromise as the transfer deadline draws closer.
Bored of it. You can keep him. There are better options out there for 25 million
It is not one year left they have an option to extend it another year and so it is two yrs left on his contract .Stop the lazy journalism crap and do some research.