£46m Man Replacement – Swoop For Leeds United Star To Be ‘Finalised Shortly’ | OneFootball

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Leeds United boss Daniel Farke is expected to soon have one fewer centre-back at his disposal as Bundesliga club Hamburg are closing in on Sebastiaan Bornauw.

The Whites landed Bornauw from Wolfsburg last summer and he has been purely a defensive backup under Farke; the German boss says the defender was aware could be.

It was a situation which led to the defender being open to exiting Elland Road in the winter transfer window amid interest from Germany, but he ended up staying put.

Now Hamburg, who want to replace Luka Vuskovic following his return to Tottenham Hotspur and subsequent £46m move to Brighton, have zeroed in on Bornauw.

The Bundesliga side have been working on a deal and look set to succeed in their pursuit of the centre-back.

According to German daily the Hamburger Abendblatt (via Fussball Transfers), Hamburg’s plan is for the capture of Bornauw and striker Terem Moffi to be ‘finalised shortly’.

It remains unclear on what terms Bornauw will depart Elland Road, however the defender is keen for regular game time which Farke cannot provide.

Clubs Sebastiaan Bornauw has played for

While Leeds sold Pascal Struijk, who could partner Vuskovic at Brighton this season, they immediately moved to replace him with Tarik Muharemovic, leading to no improvement in Bornauw’s prospects.

Farke though will likely want to replace Bornauw when he does depart, especially given his system now requires three centre-backs, which was not the case when the defender joined.

The Leeds boss can slot James Justin and Ethan Ampadu into central defence if needed, but Justin is not a natural centre-back and Ampadu has a key role in midfield.

Hamburg finished in 13th spot in the Bundesliga last season and will be keen to continue to progress this term.

Vuskovic was a standout performer for Die Rothosen and Bornauw will have a big job on his hands replacing the Croatian if the deal goes through.

Now all eyes are on when further developments on the switch emerge.