Reliable journalist: Player agrees terms on 3-year Leeds deal, Jorge Mendes involved in talks
Valencia striker Rodrigo has “verbally agreed” a three-year deal with Leeds United although a fee has yet to be agreed between the two clubs.
That’s the major update from Paul Brown, a journalist with the Mirror and the Express.
Before Leeds fans get too excited, Brown also warned that “other interested parties could still get involved”.
ESPN UK editor David Cartlidge said that the fee for Rodrigo should end up being £31.3m including bonuses (€35m).
He added that talks have been going on “since last week” and that super-agent Jorge Mendes was handling negotiations.
Rodrigo’s father is his agent but Cartlidge said that Mendes always stepped in once talks got this big.
Welcome to the big time, Leeds
Rodrigo is a current Spain international and played as their number nine in the recent Euro 2020 qualifiers, scoring four goals.
He’s on a reported £116k-a-week at Valencia and won’t be signing for Leeds for much less.
And, as Adam Pope pointed out, while the fee being discussed is a lot, Atletico Madrid bid almost £50m for him a year ago (€55m).
It seems that the Coronavirus outbreak has made his price fall dramatically, with Valencia needing to sell after failing to qualify for Europe.
His price has dropped by almost £20m but the deal still puts Leeds back in the big time.
Rodrigo is a playmaker rather than an out-and-out goalscorer but he knows how to find the net, too.
He would be able to play alongside Bamford or instead of him and he’s a player who will get the Bielsa system straight away.
He’s also a step up in quality from everyone in the Leeds squad except for Pablo Hernandez.
Can Bielsa get him match-fit and Bielsa-fit in time for the Liverpool game in just over two weeks?
That’s the big question that Leeds fans will be asking if he does sign in the next few days.
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