AS Roma will not be signing Leeds United defender Diego Llorente on a permanent deal at the end of his loan spell.
That is according to Corriere dello Sport, who claim the £15m option to buy is deemed too high by the Italian side and so he will return to Leeds this summer.
Roma have instead set their sights on sealing a free transfer for out of contract Eintracht Frankfurt centre-back Evan Ndicka, and look like beating off competition from across Europe for his signature.
Llorente has been in and out of the side since moving to the Stadio Olimpico in January, but Jose Mourinho is said to be prioritising the addition of a left-footed centre back as opposed to signing the Spaniard on a permanent basis.
Llorente set for Leeds return after Roma spell
Since his move to Italy at the beginning of the year, Llorente has made eight appearances in all competitions, six of which have come from the start.
Having failed to therefore establish himself as a regular, an £18m purchase agreement was always likely to be seen as too high.
Regardless of the division Leeds will be playing in next season, it is hard to see Llorente remaining at Elland Road and so it is yet another player who they are going to have to move on.
Thankfully for Leeds, though, they tied the 29-year-old to a new long-term deal back in December of 2022, meaning they will still be able to bring in a decent fee for him.
That said, it is hard to see anyone paying close to £15m and so Leeds may just have to swallow their pride to ensure he is moved on, which is clearly best for all parties.