Leeds have been told they will need to raise their initial offer for Rodrigo de Paul if they’re serious about signing the Argentine playmaker.
United are preparing for their first season back in the Premier League since 2003/04, and have been looking to bolster their squad.
They have already broken their long-standing transfer record to sign Spain international forward Rodrigo Moreno from Valencia. German defender Robin Koch was another high-profile addition.
Marcelo Bielsa still wants further reinforcements, and reports emerged recently claiming Leeds were in the hunt for Udinese star De Paul.
Those talks appeared to stall last week when it emerged the player was waiting on possible interest for Juventus.
And reports in the Italian media also claimed Leicester have joined the race for the Argentinian playmaker.
Either way, there appears a lot of conjecture surrounding the potential sale of De Paul right now.
Tuesday’s edition of Mondo Udinese offers another take on proceedings. And their version could explain why a lack of progress has been made on the De Paul front from a Leeds point of view.
The Italian paper explains that Gino Pozzo has ‘rejected the first assault from Leeds by president Andrea Radrizzani’. Furthermore, they claim the Udinese owner has told Radrizzani that De Paul ‘cannot cost less’ than his €40m asking price.
They add Leeds are yet to increase their offer, hence the lack of progress in United’s efforts to bring De Paul to Yorkshire.
It remains to be seen whether Leeds will in fact increase their bid at all. Leeds have already brought in their main transfer objectives this summer. As such, they seemingly don’t feel under any pressure at this stage to make the next move.
There does, however, remain a grain of optimism for Leeds. Mondo Udinese writes that De Paul is in the belief ‘his adventure in Friuli to be over’.
Whether the next chapter brings him to Leeds remains to be seen. But at least Leeds now know what it will take to sign the playmaker.
Arthur Cabral miss explained
Leeds, meanwhile, missed out on the signing of Arthur Cabral because they were not prepared to meet his release clause, a report has revealed.
Arthur was one of several strikers to be linked with Leeds over the summer after an impressive season at Basel. He scored 18 goals from 39 games in Switzerland.
Leeds were looking for attacking reinforcements after their return to the Premier League. Eventually, they made a club-record signing of Rodrigo Moreno.
However, Arthur had been another option for the Whites. Now reports in his native Brazil have revealed how far away their offer was from Basel’s asking price.
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