Talks open: Club move to sign £57,000-a-week Leeds player who Bielsa loves

Leeds transfer plans in the Championship

The Whites are preparing for a second season in the Championship after missing out on immediate promotion back to the Premier League under Daniel Farke. The German will remain in charge at Elland Road for the 2024/25 campaign, but before then, a busy summer in the transfer market appears to be likely.

Chairman Paraag Marathe recently admitted there will need to be some “trade-offs” as a result of their failure to rturn to the top flight at the first time of asking.

“We have the funds that we need to do what we need to do. The reality of being in the Championship is that Profitability and Sustainability (P&S) plays a role. We also inherited a challenging situation, so naturally there are going to be some trade-offs. But also, we have a really good team, and it is not just about outs, but ins.

“We’re looking at scouting possibilities and players that we can bring in. We will have to make some trade-offs because of P&S but we have the investment commitment to do what we need to do.”

Some of the players who starred under Farke last season have been linked with exits, such as Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto. However, the Whites will have decisions to make on a number of players returning from loan spells, such as Brenden Aaronson, who is set to play a part in Leeds’ promotion push next season after talks with Farke.

One who may not be in the plans, though, is centre-back Diego Llorente, who spent last season on loan with AS Roma.

Roma in talks with Leeds over Diego Llorente transfer

According to reports in Italy, relayed by Sport Witness, Roma are now in talks with Leeds to sign Llorente on a permanent transfer. A €5m (£4.2m) fee has been mooted for the £57,000-a-week defender, who is under contract until 2026.

Llorente was brought to Leeds by Marcelo Bielsa, who was full of praise for the defender following his first season at Elland Road.

“He has played well, he hasn’t had any bad games. He’s had a performance level that has improved every single time we have played. He started playing well and from there onwards he’s been playing better. He has been one of the high points of our season.”

However, after a promising debut campaign, things went downhill for Llorente in Yorkshire, who was sent to Roma midway through the 2022/23 season. He ended up making 59 appearances for Leeds in all competitions and has already turned out 54 times for the Italian giants, so a permanent move could make sense for all involved.