Oumar Solet: The Leeds United transfer target who 'muzzled' prime Robert Lewandowski

Oumar Solet is the latest name to join Leeds United's transfer list.

The Whites have reportedly made contact with the centre-back, who could leave Serie A side Udinese this summer.

Daniel Farke now wants to prioritise signing a new centre-back after Pascal Struijk's exit, with Solet on the radar.

There are other clubs interested in the 26-year-old, who had a standout season in Italy last campaign.

The former Olympique Lyon youth graduate has been highly rated since he was young, and is now coming into his best years as a defender.

Leeds have made contact with Solet's agent, and there are some big reasons why the Whites are attracted to a potential move.

Leeds target once stopped prime Robert Lewandowski

Leeds are said to have a "strong interest" in Solet, who has also attracted the attention of Inter Milan in the past.

Inter had been chasing the Udinese star earlier in June, with Gianluca Di Marzio sharing that the Serie A side were looking for a fee in the region of £21.3million.

Given Struijk raised around £20m for the Whites, Paraag Marathe and Co. may have no issue paying practically the same amount for someone who could be an upgrade on the Dutchman.

Leeds will take confidence after learning Solet's qualities and past achievements, including when he pocketed Robert Lewandowski in the Champions League during the first leg of a Round of 16 tie between RB Salzburg and Bayern Munich.

As highlighted by L'Equipe in February of 2022, Lewandowski was "muzzled" by Solet and current Leeds star Max Wober, who both played for RB Salzburg at the time.

Salzburg drew 1-1 with Munich in the match, but Lewandowski, who was in his prime, wasn't able to get a single shot off in the match, due to a "heroic" performance from Solet, blocking several chances.

It's perhaps the biggest achievement of the defender's, as Lewandowski has since gone on to score even more goals with Barcelona, edging his name in history as one of the world's best-ever strikers.

But he's developed even further since.

Oumar Solet's 25/26 season in numbers

Leeds also have interest in Sassuolo defender Tarik Muharemovic, but there's no reason why two centre-backs can't be signed this summer.

Solet, like Muharemovic, had an impressive season in the Serie A, and it's no surprise to see why the Whites are keen on the former

After playing 35 games for Udinese last season, he boasted an impressive FotMob rating of 7.23, which, to put in context, beat Jaka Bijol's record of 7.02, who was the highest-performing centre-back for Leeds last campaign.

Solet managed to grab three goals, proving a threat from set-pieces, and made 2.28 tackles per 90 minutes

On paper, he'd be a great signing for Farke's men.