Leeds United defender Diego Llorente has agreed contract terms with Real Betis and a bid is expected soon, as per Estadio Deportivo (via Sport Witness).
Leeds United are once again in the middle of a busy summer transfer window as they try and prepare their squad for another season in the Championship.
Daniel Farke’s side will be aiming for automatic promotion this season, but it won’t be an easy task.
They are set for another hectic summer window with several of their first team players linked with a move away.
Llorente, 30, has spent the past 18 months on loan in Italy with Roma. The Spanish defender played over 50 games whilst in Italy and has returned to Elland Road this summer for the first time since Leeds United’s relegation.
Roma were reportedly willing to make another loan offer to Leeds United, but Real Betis in Spain were happy to make a permanent offer and Leeds United are thought to prefer a sale this summer.
It was then claimed Llorente would actually rather a move back to his home country with Betis seemingly the frontrunners. Now, a fresh Spanish report claims Betis don’t want to wait any longer and a bid could be imminent.
It goes on to say contractual terms between Llorente and the club are already agreed and whilst Leeds United want around €6m, an offer of around €5m would likely see an agreement reached.
A smart move
Llorente is one of the players Leeds United should be looking to move on and it’s no surprise to see him edge closer to the exit.
The 30-year-old defender is a good player and would make a difference in the Championship, but after spending time in the Serie A and given he has La Liga offers on the table, staying in the second tier was never really on the cards.
It will be good for the Whites to recoup some money and they can look at reinforcing their squad with a younger defender and continue to build towards the future.
An area to target
They do need defensive reinforcements though this summer. Joe Rodon is a target as Farke looks to re-sign the former Leeds United loanee, but they face Premier League competition from Leicester City and Ipswich Town with the latter already submitting a verbal offer to Tottenham Hotspur.
Leeds United are more than capable of finishing inside the top two this season, but whether that comes off will largely come down to the business they do between now and the start of the campaign.
It seems likely there will be quite a bit of movement over the coming weeks and it will be interesting to see who leaves and who joins their quest to return to the Premier League.
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