Leeds in club-record talks to sign “elite” star

Minus conceding three goals on the final day of the Premier League season to West Ham United, Leeds United stood out as a strong defensive unit towards the latter stages of the last campaign.

Indeed, the rest of May would see them give up only three goals, as two big wins against Brighton and Hove Albion and Burnley were secured to maintain their top-flight status for another season.

In particular, Jaka Bijol would impress as a defensive warrior for Daniel Farke‘s men, with six duels bravely won against the Seagulls and the Clarets, clinching those memorable victories.

Safe to say, Leeds got their money’s worth out of the Slovenian in the end, having splashed out £15m on his services from Udinese, with more big spending on the horizon as they hunt down additional defensive recruits.

Leeds remain in the race to seal big coup

Leeds could dip their toes back into the European markets to seal another valiant defender for Farke.

Reports suggest that the Whites are readying an offer to sign Nico Elvedi from Borussia Mönchengladbach, with the Swiss centre-back previously working alongside the German at the Bundesliga club.

In an even bolder move, Portuguese newspaper O Jogo, as relayed by Sports Witness, are indicating that following talks, Leeds remain in the hunt to sign Sporting titan Ousmane Diomande this summer, who would be a huge coup at the back if sealed.

O Jogo states that the Lisbon giants will not be considering giving up their star defender for anything less than his £69m release clause, with prior reports stating that an offer as low as £34m could have been enough to land the Ivorian.

This steep valuation will surely put off Leeds in their pursuit of the 6-foot-3 defender, with both Chelsea and AFC Bournemouth also keen on the in-demand colossus, but they have already shown this summer that they’re unafraid to punch above their weight, with the likes of Julian Brandt on their shopping list, who is just fresh off a three-goal haul in the illustrious Champions League last season.

Therefore, do not rule out Leeds powering on to try and win the £69m ace, with a move for the Sporting number 26 going down as a more lavish coup than securing a move for the German midfielder.

Why signing Diomande would be a bigger coup than Brandt

Acquiring the towering defender against all the odds would see Leeds smash their transfer record by quite some distance, which still stands at £35.5m, when they landed the tricky Georginio Rutter from Hoffenheim in 2023.

Fast forward three years, and an additional £30m could soon be forked out to snap up Diomande, with Farke and Co showing the rest of the Premier League that they deserve a consistent spot around the big boy table by winning the 15-time Ivory Coast international.

Brandt is, of course, an exceptional talent in his own right, with 11 goal contributions collected in league action last season with Dortmund.

But, at 30 years of age, he isn’t exactly deep in the prime years of his career anymore, which is reflected in the fact that he can be brought to Elland Road on a free transfer this summer.

On the contrary, Diomande is brimming with potential and ready to explode into life in the Premier League at only 22 years of age, with the Ivorian’s valuation of £69m set to rise even more if he goes on to be a resounding success in England, having already been branded an “elite” level talent by talent scout Jacek Kulig.

Already, he has 87 league games under his belt for Sporting, despite his young age, with eight goal contributions and 27 clean sheets to shout about in Liga Portugal.

On top of these promising numbers, he also bettered both Joe Rodon and the aforementioned Bijol across the last campaign, in terms of accurate passes completed per league contest, with an unerring 93% average registered.

All too often in recent times, Leeds have been known to fall by the wayside when trying to complete statement purchases.

But, if they were to put their money where their mouth is right now, and beat the likes of Xabi Alonso’s free-spending Chelsea to sign Diomande, tremors would be felt across the entire division at Leeds’ ambitious spending, much more than if they were to land Brandt on a free transfer.

Even beating Bournemouth to his signature would be a major statement of intent, as the Cherries will be competing in next season’s Europa League.