Azzedine Ounahi not interested in Leeds United transfer as £22m bid tabled

Azzedine Ounahi is not interested in a move to Leeds United after they tabled a £22m bid to sign him from Angers, according to L'Equipe.

Ounahi was one of the breakout stars of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar as he shone for Morocco en route to a fourth-placed finish.

Those performances have seen him linked with a move away from the Ligue 1 club, with Leeds tabling a major bid for the 22-year-old, but a fresh report from L'Equipe claims the player isn't interested in moving to Elland Road.

"Leeds have made a written offer to Angers estimated at 25 million euros for Azzedine Ounahi," they wrote (8 January). "But the club does not have the player's preference.

"After Napoli, which made an oral offer estimated at €15m, it was Leeds who made a concrete move in recent days for Azzedine Ounahi. The English club offered €25m (£22m) to Angers for their player.

"But the Moroccan is, for the moment, not excited about a departure to Leeds."

Shame

Ounahi is the exact type of midfield signing that would be perfect at Elland Road, as a youthful, energetic player with great physical and technical qualities.

His performances saw him labelled as "absolutely incredible" by legendary manager Jose Mourinho during the tournament, and if anyone knows a talented midfielder in world football it's the Portuguese coach.

But Ounahi has been linked to the likes of Barcelona, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain because of those performances, so it's not really a surprise that he may have his eyes on a move somewhere more glamorous.

It's a real shame for Leeds though, as we look to strengthen our squad ahead of a difficult second half of the season, and with losing Mateusz Klich to DC United a new midfielder has a place to slot in.

But rather than hang around like we did for Cody Gakpo and Charles De Ketelaere when there is seemingly no interest, we should now move on and look elsewhere rather than wasting our time and ending up with nobody.

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