Player rejects contract offer from CL club, he wants to play for Leeds – Sky Sports journo
Udinese midfielder Rodrigo De Paul has rejected a contract offer from Zenit St Petersburg because wants to play for Leeds United, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Sky Sports Italy journalist reported via the Here We Go podcast that Zenit offered De Paul, 26, an “important bid” but it has been rejected by the Argentina international because he has his heart set on playing in the Premier League.
De Paul has been strongly linked with a move to Elland Road in the final weeks of the transfer window but the Whites are yet to agree a fee with Udinese.
However, that hasn’t stopped the midfielder from knowing what he wants and what he doesn’t want.
“We can add another detail because Rodrigo De Paul, to join Leeds, has turned down a really important bid by Zenit because he doesn’t want to play for them and just wants to play in the Premier League, if possible, with Leeds.”
Zenit are a big club in Russia and can almost guarantee silverware and European football every year.
Last season, they won the Russian Premier League to qualify for the Champions League so for De Paul to turn down a decent league and European football in favour of Leeds is massive.
It must be the Bielsa effect.
The Leeds manager has this side playing some amazing football and De Paul is bound to feel as though it suits him well.
If he does join Leeds, we’d expect it to be a long integration process for De Paul – as is always the case with Bielsa – but he hasn’t had a pre-season with the Whites which makes it last longer.
Once he’s fully up to speed, who does he replace in Bielsa’s line-up?
We hate to say it but it could be 35-year-old Pablo Hernandez.
In other Leeds United news, Paul Robinson has slammed this “unpredictable” Leeds player in an exclusive interview with MOT Leeds News.