Leeds United have already shown this summer that they are ready to buy players simply to provide back-up to Daniel Farke’s starting XI, with two of their three signings unlikely to be first choice.
Leeds have spent £20m this summer on three new players. Lukas Nmecha arrives on a free, while Jaka Bijol has cost the club £15m and signed a five-year deal. Another £5m was spent on Sebastiaan Bornauw.
Adam Underwood will know that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and that plenty more additions are required to give Daniel Farke’s side a fighting chance of Premier League survival come May 2026.
A new goalkeeper, left-back, midfielder, no.10, left-winger and a starting striker are all required. Bijol is expected to start with Joe Rodon, but Bornauw and Nmecha are only brought in as cover at Leeds.
Leeds could still sign £5m left-back alongside Gudmundsson
Leeds are widely expected to sign Sweden international Gabriel Gudmundsson from Lille, replacing the loss of Junior Firpo. He fits the bill, and Graham Smyth says talks are going in the right direction.
However, Leeds are set to lose two full-backs this summer. Sam Byram is also out of contract alongside Firpo and while there has been no confirmation, Byram is now officially a free agent with his deal over.
Another left-back that has been linked with Leeds is Villa’s Alex Moreno, after the 32-year-old spent last season on loan at Forest. Darren Witcoop reports on TeamTalk that Aston Villa are ready to sell Moreno.
Leeds are leading the race for the Spanish left-back with Villa willing to accept offers of £5m for the left-back. Perhaps then, Leeds are looking to sign both Gudmundsson and Moreno on the left of defence.
What Unai Emery has said about Alex Moreno’s future
The reason for Moreno’s loan move to Nottingham Forest was largely because Villa had signed Ian Maatsen. It meant the Midlands outfit boasted three top-tier left-backs and Moreno was sent packing.
With Moreno returning to Villa, that problem still remains. Lucas Digne and Maatsen continue to fight for a starting spot in Emery’s side and Emery has previously explained this is the reason for Moreno going.
“We were speaking with different players in this position. The difficulty is to manage with three left-backs. Moreno is the player who is now close to leaving,” Emery said previously, before Moreno joined Forest.
With the same problem remaining, surely Moreno leaves Villa this summer. Whether he is happy to join Leeds and play back-up to Gudmundsson remains to be seen, though he would get more game time.
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