If Premier League football comes to Leeds United for next season, then the upcoming summer transfer window could prove to be an expensive one for the club.
Leeds United are certainly on track to secure promotion from the Championship this season. If they do, the 49ers and Daniel Farke will want to make sure that they’re returning to the top flight for good.
That would undoubtedly mean some summer spending. Leeds United arguably have the best team in the Championship right now, but as a lot of promoted teams are finding out, the Premier League is a completely different challenge.
The three teams that were promoted last season currently sit in the bottom three: Leicester City, Ipswich Town, and Southampton, and the likes of Ipswich spend big as well.
Spending not only needs to happen at Elland Road, but recruitment needs to clever. Farke has a few players who he’s seemingly been keeping tabs on for a long time now and one of those is Emi Buendia.
Leeds United wanted to sign Buendia on loan in January but he eventually joined Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen for the remainder of the 2024/25 season.
How much Bayer Leverkusen have to pay to sign Emi Buendia
An emerging report from TeamTalk has now delved into Buendia’s loan move to Leverkusen, revealing that the Bundesliga champions have an option to buy the Aston Villa man in the summer and that if they don’t opt to sign Buendia, then Leeds could quickly swoop in.
Their report states that Bayer Leverkusen have a £16.7million option to buy Buendia in the summer. Villa signed Buendia from Farke’s Norwich City in the summer of 2021, paying a reported £33million at the time. Buendia signed a contract extension with Villa before moving to Germany on loan.
When the 28-year-old is out of contract remains to be seen. But his previous deal was set to expire in 2026 and so it’d be safe to assume that he’s signed a deal until the summer of 2027 at least.
Leeds United have an Emi Buendia alternative in mind
It’s been reported a few times now that Leeds will want to sign a brand new playmaker in the summer, should they be gearing up for a return to the Premier League.
Buendia certainly fits the bill but Leverkusen hold all the cards right now, given the fact that they have an option to sign the Villa man at the end of the season.
But recent reports have stated that Leeds view Gustavo Hamer as an alternative to Buendia. Signing the Sheffield United star could prove equally as difficult for Farke though, especially if the Blades are promoted alongside Leeds.
First and foremost though is the remaining 14 Championship games. Leeds welcome Sunderland to Elland Road on Monday night for a real promotion crunch match.
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