Leeds United will face a battle to sell Diego Llorente this summer with AS Roma not set to exercise their £18 million permanent option.
That is according to the Athletic, who report Leeds will need to ‘work hard’ to get Llorente off the wage bill after he signed a new three-and-a-half year deal in December.
Llorente was sent out on loan to Roma in January in a deal that included an option-to-buy that always seemed pretty steep from the outset.
The 29-year-old has made just seven starts across all competitions for the Italian side and after their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League were ended by their Europa League final defeat to Sevilla last night, it looks as though he will not be staying.
Based on Leeds‘ decision to loan him out, Llorente is clearly deemed surplus to requirements at Elland Road and therefore a cut-price deal may need to be agreed if he is to leave.
Leeds face battle to sell Llorente
It was reported in the Italian press last month that Roma could look to return to the negotiating table for Llorente, providing Leeds drop their price.
They are currently the front runners to sign Eintracht Frankfurt centre back Evan N’Dicka on a free transfer, which would limit their need to spend big on Llorente.
It is paramount that someone like Llorente is moved on this summer, even if it requires settling for a fee lower than they would want.
In order to make room for new signings, Leeds will need to get him off the wage bill but club’s knowing how desperate the Whites are to sell could reduce their bargaining power.
The decision to offer him a new deal in December is looking all the more baffling by the week and you’ve just got to hope it doesn’t affect Leeds’ ability to sell him too much.
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