Diego Llorente set to leave Leeds United to join Roma - Gianluca Di Marzio

Diego Llorente is set to join Roma on loan with an option to buy after they agreed a deal with Leeds United, according to Gianluca Di Marzio.

The Whites defender signed a new contract earlier this season to extend his stay at Elland Road, but he'll now be leaving for the Italian capital to link up with Jose Mourinho at Roma.

According to reliable journalist Di Marzio, the clubs have agreed an "expensive" loan deal with a right to make the deal permanent in the summer as Roma bolster their defence.

"Roma strike a surprise on the penultimate day of the transfer market: an agreement has been found with Leeds for Diego Llorente, a defender born in 1993," he wrote on his website (30 January).

"The player will move to the capital on an expensive loan with the right to buy."

Wow

Llorente has hardly lit up Elland Road since he joined the club, and many fans were shocked to hear that he had signed a new deal back in December.

But it now seems as though that new deal was to protect his value more than anything else, and the signing of Maximilian Wober has allowed the club to be able to listen to offers for him.

Wober has the ability to play as a centre-back or left-back, just like Pascal Struijk and that allows the club to have plenty of options in the side to allow for his exit to become a reality.

Llorente leaving on loan is a deal that many fans won't be too disappointed about, and it potentially opens up a future pathway spot for the likes of Charlie Cresswell or incoming signing Diogo Monteiro in the future too.

It's a surprise for sure, but the word "expensive" is clearly key to the deal from Leeds' point of view and it's a deal that everyone will be happy to hear is happening.

In other Leeds news, first-teamers future in doubt as incoming signing close to completion.