Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou shines v Spain as Leeds United eye deal amid £43.7m transfer clause
Leeds United fans might not have heard of Sevilla goalkeeper Yassini Bounou when he was first linked with a move to Elland Road back in September.
However, after a stunning performance against Spain in the World Cup on Tuesday (6 December), there’s a good chance that those fans will be very keen on Victor Orta getting a deal done for the Morocco number one.
Bounou, 31, made two saves in a penalty shoot-out after normal and extra time ended goalless to help book Morocco’s spot in the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time ever.
The Canada-born shot-stopper saved efforts from Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets, as well as saving one shot in normal time [WhoScored].
It’s interesting for Leeds fans because the Yorkshire club has reportedly been looking at signing the former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper, who also goes by the name Bono.
Fichajes.net reported on 21 September that Leeds – as well as West Ham – are interested in signing Bounou, who’s been dubbed as “one of the best goalkeepers in La Liga”, from Sevilla.
He won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy at Sevilla last term, which is an award just for goalkeepers who’ve got the lowest goals conceded-to-games ratio in La Liga.
Bounou has emerged on Leeds’ radar this season with Illan Meslier finding himself linked with a move away from Elland Road.
Manchester United [Fabrizio Romano] and Tottenham [Phil Hay] are said to be keen on the Frenchman.
While there’s no suggestion Meslier will be off in January, he’s a goalkeeper who’s attracting attention from Premier League big guns and Orta wouldn’t be doing his job as director of football properly if he wasn’t already looking at potential replacements.
While Bounou, at the age of 31, wouldn’t be a like-for-like replacement for 22-year-old Meslier, he’s a goalkeeper with a lot of experience under his belt and this latest performance on the world’s biggest stage will no doubt prove even more to Orta that he’s barking up the right tree.
Bounou could be costly, however.
La Razon reported on 22 September that the Morocco international’s release clause has risen from £26.2million to £43.7million this year, meaning that Leeds would no doubt be priced out of a move if Sevilla stick to that.
However, some top negotiating from Orta could see him get his man should the Whites find themselves in need of a new number one come next year.
In other Leeds United news, the 49ers can fund a blockbuster move for this player in January as they close in on a takeover.