Everton and Burnley looking to disrupt Leeds United’s plans to replace Junior Firpo

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With Leeds United set to complete the signing of defender Jaka Bijol, attention will turn to the club’s other priorities in the transfer market, which include replacing Junior Firpo at left-back.

Bijol has still not been announced by Leeds, but is expected to become the club’s second addition. He will join for a fee of £18.75m, which will see Bijol become Slovenia’s second most-expensive transfer ever.

But after Bijol, Leeds have a whole lot more to do. The signing of a big-name striker, a goalkeeper, a new midfielder, and replacements for both Junior Firpo and Manor Solomon, with a whole left flank needed.

Leeds have been linked with a whole host of left-sided defenders this summer, with Firpo about to join Real Betis on a free transfer. But the one Leeds want the most seems to be Lille’s Gabriel Gudmundsson.

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Everton and Burnley join race to sign Gabriel Gudmundsson

Gudmundsson has entered the final year of his contract, like Bijol had at Udinese. The Sweden star is set to move on and Leeds are pushing hard to sign him, though Leeds Live say they are not close to a deal.

So much so, that Leeds Live report two rival Premier League clubs have also shown interest in the Lille defender and will rival The Whites for his signature. Indeed, Everton and Burnley want Gudmundsson.

Two clubs that will likely be direct rivals for Leeds next season, not least because Angus Kinnear has made the switch from Elland Road to Merseyside and Scott Parker’s team were a rival for Leeds during 24-25.

Gabriel Gudmundsson’s career in numbers with Leeds interested

With Gudmundsson admitting himself that he is “very likely to leave” Lille this summer, the race is hotting up to nab his signature. Certainly, the numbers show that Gudmundsson is ideal in replacing Firpo.

Coming through at Swedish side Halmstads, his numbers in the final third are likely to have convinced Groningen to take him to The Netherlands before Lille swooped to land the 15-time Sweden defender.

Leeds will now be focusing on a left-back with Gudmundsson one of the strongest-linked players with the club aside from Bijol. The Whites will be really intensifying their work in the window in the next few weeks.