The clause in Reinildo’s contract that means Leeds United can sign him for absolutely nothing

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The latest name to be linked with a move to Leeds United surprisingly comes in the form of an Atletico Madrid player, with Adam Underwood working hard to bring in some new signings.

There is a feeling that this week has seen Leeds and Underwood spring into gear and really begin to start their work in the transfer window. Jaka Bijol looks like he could well be about to join Leeds this summer.

A brilliant start, and a real coup for Leeds if he does sign given Bijol has been linked with some of the best teams in Italian football. Leeds have also tabled a £22m bid to sign Strasbourg captain Habib Diarra.

Elsewhere, Leeds have held talks for Aston Villa’s Alex Moreno and made a move to sign Anderlecht gem Mario Stroeykens. On Wednesday, it was claimed Leeds had made an approach to sign Reinildo Mandava.

• READ MORE: Ilia Gruev throws his own Leeds United future into doubt on Tuesday evening

The special clause which means Reinildo is available on a free

Reinildo joined Atletico Madrid from French side Lille in January 2022 and has since gone on to play north of 100 times for Diego Simeone’s side, despite suffering an ACL injury in 2023, ruling him out for months.

During 2024-25, Reinildo was a fringe player but still clocked up 29 appearances for Atleti. He knew that he would be out of contract at the end of the season, unless he managed to activate a clause in his deal.

Spanish newspaper Marca reported in March the details of that clause. Reinildo needed to play at least 45 minutes in half of Atleti’s matches during 2024-25 in all competitions, and Reinildo has failed to do that.

With the season now over, Atletico Madrid played 55 times in all competitions during 2024-25. It meant Reinildo would have to play at least 45 minutes in 27 matches – but the defender managed just 17.

The other Premier League clubs interested in Reinildo Mandava

The initial report from journalist Ben Jacobs confirming Leeds had made an approach to sign Reinildo also said that Sunderland and Nottingham Forest had done the same. There is interest from the Middle East.

Earlier this month, Africa Foot said Tottenham, Fulham and Crystal Palace had shown interest in the 31-year-old left-back, who can also play as a centre-back. The Mozambique star is likely to move to England.

Whether Leeds can convince Reinildo that Elland Road is the move he should make remains to be seen. But when it comes to securing starts and game time, Leeds may offer his best move as Junior Firpo leaves.