Leeds join PL duo in race for Portuguese midfielder, club demanding £11.9m – report
Leeds United have entered the race to sign Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario, according to O Jogo.
The Portuguese outlet have claimed on their website that a number of clubs have made enquiries, including the Whites and Premier League rivals West Ham and Newcastle.
Mario has spent two of the past three seasons out on loan from Inter, completing spells with the Irons and Lokomotiv Moscow.
O Jogo claim in their report that the Italian club will be demanding £11.9million for the Portuguese international.
Moscow are reported to be ready to pay that fee with no questions asked after his successful loan spell in Russia last season.
Mario only featured 18 times in the league but did complete four clashes in the Champions League group stages.
Despite that, the 27-year-old is still a prominent fixture in the Portugal national squad alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo in European Championship qualifiers.
Leeds’ main target is still Rodrigo de Paul in midfield, and they remain in talks to try and sign the Udinese player.
Phil Hay reported on Saturday that the Whites are in two minds over whether they should sign the player or not, based on the Italian club’s £35million valuation.
Another journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed that Leeds’ latest bid only amounted up to £23million and was turned down.
With talks starting to somewhat stall surrounding de Paul, Leeds appear to be looking at other options, and Mario could be another option to fill the gap in midfield that Marcelo Bielsa desperately wants.
In other Leeds United news, Dermot Gallagher shares verdict on two incidents in Whites win over Fulham
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