Prior to this week, it seemed Leeds United were trying to sign players from Premier League clubs, or those who had experience of playing in England’s top tier. But that has all changed.
Talks continue for Jaka Bijol with a fee of £12.7m-£15.2m expected, while Leeds have made a £22m bid for Strasbourg captain Habib Diarra. Talks have been held to sign Mario Stroeykens and Reinildo Mandava.
Four players that do not boast a minute of Premier League football between them. That is not to say the club are not considering Premier League players, with Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff the most likely arrival.
But it feels like there is more of a willingness to sign players from Europe this summer. Another option is Lecce’s mercurial striker Nikola Krstovic. He has been linked with a £25m move to Leeds this summer.
Lecce sporting director opens door to Nikola Krstovic sale
Krstovic was immense for Lecce last season. The Serie A side escaped relegation on the final day with Krstovic laying on a crucial assist in a 1-0 win, his 16th goal or assist during the 2024-25 Serie A season.
Lecce only managed 27 Serie A goals during 2024-25 and Krstovic had a hand in 16 of them. Remarkable numbers, and Krstovic is attracting interest from Leeds as well as the likes of Roma and AC Milan.
Now, Lecce’s sporting director Pantaleo Corvino has been quoted by TMW as saying that Lecce do not need to sell Krstovic, but if the player wants to leave the club then they will not stand in the striker’s way.
Asked directly about Krstovic, Corvino said: “Since we are a healthy club, if no one asks us to leave, we do not sell anyone. In January we had requests for him, which would have been useful for our project.
“But we are so healthy that if a player does not want to leave we keep him. If the same player tells me he wants to be sold, we try to satisfy him. We cannot allow players to stay here against their will,” he said.
What Nikola Krstovic recently said about his Lecce future
Krstovic made it clear he wants to leave Lecce. The star has been speaking openly while on international duty with Montenegro, stating that he is closer to leaving Lecce in his mind than he is willing to stay.
“I am thinking about the next matches with the national team, then I will talk to the people closest to me and decide what is best for me. At the moment I am closer to leaving the club,” Krstovic declared.
Given his form, Krstovic is seemingly a bargain at £25m. He fits the bill for Leeds in terms of the type of player they want to sign, experienced but young and an international. He would be a stunning signing.
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