Leeds United turn attention to Ligue 1 champion that spent last term sidelined with an ACL injury

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Last week started so promisingly for Leeds United. The club had agreed a deal to sign left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson, and agreed a new contract with Sam Byram until 2026.‘

Then, Leeds confirmed they had submitted plans to Leeds City Council over plans to increase Elland Road capacity from 38,000 to 53,000. A deal to sign Sean Longstaff would have completed a near-perfect week.

Leeds had submitted a third offer for Longstaff worth £12m in total. But later on in the week, it is claimed that Newcastle actually rejected the offer and in terms of signing the midfielder, Leeds are at square one.

Newcastle’s board expect Longstaff could still leave the club, but Eddie Howe wants to keep him for four reasons including his ‘work rate’ and ‘tactical understanding’. But Leeds are eyeing a new player, instead.

• READ MORE: Leeds star makes his Elland Road stance clear with “hopefully” comment this week

Leeds target Ligue 1 champion, currently playing in Greece

According RMCSport, Leeds are keen on signing attacking midfielder Yusuf Yazici. The 28-year-old, who can play in most attacking positions including 10, out wide or up top, is currently with Olympiacos.

A 45-time Turkey international, Yazici won Ligue 1 in 2020-21 with Lille as well as finishing top scorer in the Europa League that season. Last summer, he left Lille and joined Olympiacos on a free in September.

The report claims Yazici could now leave Olympiacos after just one season with a return to one of the top-five leagues in Europe on the cards. They say that Leeds and an unnamed French club want to sign Yazici.

Yazici only managed one appearance for Olympiacos last season

When the Turkish attacker joined Olympiacos, it was seen as a real coup for the Greek giants. But after just 20 minutes in his first outing, he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, his season done.

Now fit again, Yazici finds himself with two years left on his contract but the feeling is that he wants to move on after a nightmare year. Whether he is fully fit after such a long stint out remains to be seen.

Leeds have taken a gamble like this before under Daniel Farke, signing Manor Solomon after the Israeli suffered a torn meniscus just six games into his Tottenham stint. Yazici then, could be a target for Leeds.