Diego Llorente returned to the starting line-up for Roma on Sunday afternoon as Jose Mourinho’s men secured a comfortable 3-0 win over Udinese – and the Leeds United defender has one again earned praise from Italian media.
Llorente, 29, endured a tricky start to life at Roma since joining the Italian giants on a loan-to-buy deal from Leeds in January. A move that originated largely because of the relationship between Llorente and his old Real Madrid boss.
Indeed, it was Mourinho that handed Llorente his professional debut after coming through the ranks at Real Madrid. Llorente has since managed just 59 outings for Leeds since joining the Whites in 2020, and a loan was organised.
The Spain star has been made to wait for a run in the Roma team. But on Sunday, he started his third league game in a row after remaining an unused sub against Arne Slot’s Feyenoord in the week – with Mourinho’s men losing 1-0.
Roma cruised to a 3-0 win with the three-man defence of Llorente, Chris Smalling and Gianluca Mancini hardly tested. Italian outlet Giallorossi gave their verdict, handing the on-loan Leeds man a rating out of 10 of 6.5.
“Another performance of substance, flawless. A backup of sure reliability is confirmed,” Giallorossi reported in a player ratings piece posted at full-time. A win that sees Roma strengthen their position in third in the Serie A table.
Leeds defender Llorente earns praise from Italian media as Roma win 3-0
With every performance Llorente puts in for Roma, he is edging closer to a move to the Italian club. A report from Forza Roma states that while Mourinho’s side have a £15.8m option in the loan – they don’t want to exceed £9m.
Indeed, the originally agreed fee was always going to be expensive given Llorente turns 30 this summer. But, the defender will certainly be the subject of talks with Roma and if a fee of around £10m can be reached, then why not.
His time at Leeds is over. Robin Koch is first choice, Charlie Cresswell is impressing out on loan and there are a number of left-footed options at the club. Leeds would be making a loss, but it is still a decent fee for Llorente.
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