Atletico Madrid enter race for Leeds United target Rodrigo de Paul

Leeds United will now be facing stiff competition if they attempt to sign Rodrigo de Paul this summer, with Atletico Madrid joining the race for his services.

Atletico boss Diego Simeone is understood to be a huge fan of the Italian midfielder and is reportedly interested in bringing him to the Spanish capital in the summer.

According to Tuttomercatoweb, the La Liga leaders are not the only high-profile club to be linked with him.

As per reports in Italy, where de Paul plies his trade, Inter Milan are also keeping a close eye on the promising Udinese midfielder.

An important signing

It was no secret last summer that Marcelo Bielsa wanted to sign a new midfielder for his first-ever Premier League campaign.

Pablo Hernandez's ageing legs meant the club had to pursue alternatives and the likes of Michael Cuisance and Rodrigo de Paul looked like promising deals before both fizzled out.

Kalvin Phillips and Mateusz Klich have been mainstays in the middle for Leeds, but Bielsa has tinkered with his third midfield position on several occasions with a number of players deputising but failing to make that role their own.

Signing de Paul would go a long way in solving that problem, but matching his asking price is something that the Leeds hierarchy may think twice about.

Phil Hay has previously stated that we're exploring other options, but should de Paul be within range, one would expect the club to look deeper into the move, given how highly rated he is.

90Min did an in-depth look at the player and picked out his long-range shooting skills as standout. That's something we'd love to see at Leeds.

However, given the growing interest, will Udinese really be minded to lower his asking price? And Leeds wouldn't pay that last summer.

In other Leeds United news, Raphinha shares big decision he had to make before signing last summer