(Credit: Imago)

Paraag Marathe 'to avoid De Paul saga' with millions to secure new Leeds transfer

Alex is a lifelong Sunderland supporter who's been reporting on Mackem News since April 2025. Indeed, he started working for Breaking Media in April and has since graduated from St Mary's University as a NCTJ Gold Standard-accredited journalist, having completed his Master's degree in Sports Journalism. Alex previously worked for Football League World and has featured on the Roker Report, providing his opinion on all things Sunderland. While getting to the games is tricky, given his job, one of the highlights of his life was watching (and crying) as the Black Cats defeated Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium last season.

Published on:

16 Jun 2025, 2:20 am

Leeds United may be armed with a substantial amount of money this summer, but they must stretch every penny.

The Elland Road club have raised fresh investment of £120million and are expected to spend big in the transfer window.

Leeds have already made their first signing of the window in Lukas Nmecha, who will join on a free transfer from VfL Wolfsburg.

Now, they have their sights on another one, but they will want to avoid what happened with Atletico Madrid's Rodrigo De Paul.

Nmecha became Leeds' first signing of the window (Credit: Imago)

Leeds United told to swerve De Paul saga with transfer target

Now Leeds have secured Nmecha, they will be looking to press on with other targets ahead of the Premier League season.

The Whites have their eyes on talent from across Europe as well as the top flight as they cast their net far and wide.

Daniel Farke's side have their gaze fixed on Newcastle United, with Matt Targett, Callum Wilson, and Sean Longstaff all being considered.

Elsewhere, Leeds have continuously been linked with Jaka Bijol, who currently plays his football in Serie A with Udinese.

Jaka Bijol's 2024/25 Serie A statistics	Total
Appearances	34
Goals	1
Clean sheets	8
Interceptions	1.1
Tackles per game	1.3
Clearances	5.4

Bijol was a regular fixture for Udinese (Sofascore)

While a deal seemed to be chugging along nicely, they will want to avoid any disappointment if it stretches out too long.

Bijol has already expressed his desire to leave Udinese, and Leeds started negotiations at around £12.78million, according to Messaggero Veneto (15 June)

The Italian outlet states that the Whites raised their offer to £15.32m, but are still short of the £21.3m wanted figure.

They then referenced exhausting negotiations with De Paul, which did not end well due to Leeds wanting to sign him for "pennies".

Udiense ultimately said no, and then Atletico came in, and the same could happen with Bijol, who is wanted by AC Milan.

Bijol wants to leave Udinese (Credit: Imago)

Leeds must strike a deal with Udinese on their terms

While it would be easy to agree to Udinese's asking price, Leeds cannot afford for the Italians to price them out of a move.

The £21.3million figure may not sound like a lot in football, but that would take a significant chunk out of the Peacocks' transfer budget.

Given that Leeds have been linked with several English players, they will need funds for those moves to go through, especially with PSR constraints getting worse.

At 26, Bijol is playing within his prime, and it is no wonder Udinese are driving a hard bargain for his services.

Rodrigo De Paul

Paraag Marathe

Jaka Bijol