Leeds United hold talks with Roma on Tuesday to close Diego Llorente deal – Di Marzio
Leeds United and Roma held more talks today about the transfer of Diego Llorente as they close in on an agreement for a loan with an obligation to buy.
The Spaniard spent the second half of the 2022/23 season in Serie A, but Roma aren’t willing to pay the fee required to make the move permanent following the Whites’ relegation to the Championship.
But the player still wants to return and a new loan deal is close to being agreed after fresh talks on Tuesday according to Gianluca Di Marzio (27 June), with a purchase obligation set to be included based on the number of appearances he makes in the new season.
“New contacts between Tiago Pinto and the English club are expected for today,” he wrote.
“As for the central defender, he is moving towards a loan with an obligation to buy once he reaches a certain number of appearances. The ransom should be around 5 or 6 million euros (£4.3m/£5.1m).”
Problems
Leeds need the cash from any potential sale, no doubt, but having had an agreement for more than double that amount for this summer this agreement doesn’t seem great.
It’s clear that Llorente doesn’t want to return to Elland Road for the new season, and the club are clearly willing to let him go considering their position.
However, giving such a huge discount for a player that has time remaining on his deal and we agreed a fee for less than six months ago makes no sense.
A deal is likely to take place sooner rather than later, and whoever the new manager is at Elland Road will know they won’t have Llorente to count on for the Championship season.
The cash isn’t great but if it gets him and his wages off the books permanently in the end then it’s better than keeping him around when he doesn’t want to be here. Just get it over and done with.
In other Leeds news, Victor Orta wants to raid Elland Road again after agreeing a deal for one player.