Report details reason for hold-up in Leeds move for Rodrigo de Paul

A report claims that the Leeds United move for Udinese midfielder Rodrigo de Paul is being held up because the player wants to stay in Serie A. 

Italian news outlet Fantacalcio claims that a fee of around £31m (€35m) has been agreed between the two clubs and that a move could go ahead next week.

However, they claim it is on "standby" as De Paul would prefer to stay in Italy, with interest from Juventus, Fiorentina, Inter Milan and AC Milan.

The report also says that the Pozzo family is in no rush to push the move through quickly.

There is one bit of good news for Leeds fans – the report says that Leeds are still the favourites to land the player.

Waiting game

Leeds fans have been getting excited about De Paul but it seems there's a way to go before he will sign.

There's some serious competition from Serie A but this is a deflated market and clubs aren't awash with cash.

A tweet from Juventus News claimed that Di Marzio had said there wouldn't be any additions to the midfield without sales.

Of the Serie A teams interested, only Juventus and Inter can offer Champions League football.

AC Milan take on the mighty Shamrock Rovers in the Europa League in September.

However, none of the reports that we've seen have detailed any concrete offers for De Paul from Serie A sides.

We know there is genuine interest from Leeds. That's come from very reputable sources (Mike McGrath, Fabrizio Romano, Phil Hay and Adam Pope).

But, it seems that Leeds will have to be patient to see if any Serie A clubs are smoked out before next week.

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