Leeds United approach Napoli to sign Alessandro Zanoli as transfer news drops at Elland Road
Leeds United made an approach to sign Napoli defender Alessandro Zanoli during the January transfer window, according to Mail Plus.
Simon Jones reported in his Transfer Confidential on 29 January that the 23-year-old was “keen to join” the Whites, but they have now missed out as he has gone on loan to Salernitana instead.
The right-back is the latest in a series of targets linked to an Elland Road move as Daniel Farke looks to reinforce after the departures of Luke Ayling and Djed Spence, but so far to no avail.
Jones reports that Burnley’s Connor Roberts and Liverpool’s Calvin Ramsay are among others who they have enquired about this month.
More disappointment
It’s unclear what the sticking point was in terms of bringing Zanoli in if the Italian was interested in the move and a loan was evidently available.
Whether he simply decided a move within Serie A was a better option or something came up that made the Leeds United recruitment department unsure of a move he is now off the table all the same.
Phil Hay has suggested that a key issue in recruiting players this month is convincing them that they will get a game once they arrive, and that appears to be the case at right-back even though 17-year-old midfielder Archie Gray is the regular starter there.
The academy product has been very impressive on the whole and Farke is clearly eager to include him somewhere whenever possible, which is all the more difficult in his favoured central midfield when Ethan Ampadu, Glen Kamara, and more recently also Ilia Gruev, have all shone there as well.
That the Whites have been attempting to sign someone at the right-back position shows they aren’t especially comfortable with the numbers there currently, so if the window does shut without anybody new through the door then it will be risky for the promotion push.
If Gray stays fit enough on one side and a combination of Sam Byram and Junior Firpo can avoid regular lay-offs on the other then it should be fine, but that would require a lot of luck when all three have been unavailable in the recent past.
In other Leeds United news, Adam Pope has shared when yet another defender leaving the club is expected to be done before the deadline.
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