Leeds United are starting to put the hammer down as Adam Underwood makes inroads into the summer transfer window, with Lukas Nmecha signed and Jaka Bijol set to be confirmed.
The arrival of Nmecha on a two-year deal was confirmed on Sunday, joining the club on a free transfer from Wolfsburg. Bijol is set to join him, after Leeds agreed a £18.75m fee for the Udinese centre-back.
The Whites have seen a £32m bid rejected for Rodrigo Muniz, but have moved on from the Brazilian and are said to be in advanced talks to sign Nikola Krstovic after the Montenegro star’s stellar season at Lecce.
Plenty of other plates are spinning, too. It is only a couple of weeks since Leeds were reported as making a £22m bid for Habib Diarra, who excited Leeds supporters when scoring against England for Senegal.
Frankfurt among clubs battling Leeds to sign Habib Diarra
Leeds, though, are not alone in their pursuit of 21-year-old Strasbourg captain Diarra. Indeed, Strasbourg are delaying a reply to Leeds over their Diarra offer as they wait for more bids from other interested sides.
They are hoping to win every single penny for Diarra, after missing out on European qualification. Caught Offside now detail just how many clubs want to sign Diarra, with the majority in the Premier League.
Aston Villa, Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Everton are all interested in Diarra as per the report, as are Rasmus Kristensen and Robin Koch’s high-flying Frankfurt, who qualified for the Champions League.
It comes after Leeds agreed to sell Kristensen to Frankfurt, a deal which will become official on July 1, for a fee of £7.7m after the Denmark starred for the Bundesliga side during 2024-25 alongside captain Koch.
Strasbourg president confirms Habib Diarra sale is now expected
Strasbourg are co-owned by Chelsea supremo Todd Boehly and that means Liam Rosenior’s side are under no pressure to sell. They are well-backed and financially stable, meaning they don’t need to sell.
However, Strasbourg president Marc Keller says he has promised Diarra a move. Having agreed a deal to extend his contract previously, Keller says he and Diarra agreed to listen to offers come 2025.
“There’s one player who’s due to leave based on a promise I made to him two years ago: our captain, Habib Diarra. So if we get an interesting offer for him and for us, he could leave,” Keller said this week.
Diarra and his agents feel he is worthy of a move to an elite club and it is likely Leeds do not fall under that bracket, preferring a move to a club in Europe – which may be Kristensen and Koch’s Frankfurt.
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