Yet another Leeds United transfer boost as Southampton rejected by Genk winger Joseph Paintsil
Leeds United have seemingly received a boost in their pursuit of Joseph Paintsil after the Genk winger rejected a move to the Whites’ Championship rivals Southampton.
David Ornstein reported on The Athletic’s transfer blog on Friday [25 August, 08:30] that a proposed swap deal between Paintsil and Paul Onuachu is now off.
An agreement was said to be in place between Southampton and Genk, but the players turned down the option of swapping clubs.
That is good news for Leeds as, following the arrival of Joel Piroe on Thursday [24 August], Paintsil is one of three players they are looking to sign ahead of next week’s transfer deadline, along with Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara and Bayer Leverkusen attacker Nadiem Amiri [Dean Jones].
It remains to be seen who else is in the running for Paintsil, with 3SportsGH reporter Owuraku Ampofo reporting on 22 August that Serie A heavyweights Fiorentina were also eager to land the Ghana international.
Paintsil would be another big coup for Leeds should they win the race for his signature, having scored 17 goals in 36 appearances in the Belgian Pro League for Genk last season.
The 25-year-old has been at Genk since 2018, which includes a season on loan with Turkish side Ankaragucu in 2020-21, featuring 143 times for the Belgian side in total.
United now know that an €8million (£6.8m) offer, plus €2m (£1.7m) in bonuses, is what Genk are after for Paintsil – that being the valuation they agreed with Southampton in the proposed Onuachu swap deal.
That is a reasonable sum in the current market and would then leave the decision down to the player.
One way or another, Daniel Farke’s men could do with an answer by this weekend so that they can turn attention elsewhere should they need to.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites are reportedly hoping to sign one of their targets on Friday [25 August].