Discussions Ongoing – Leeds United In With Bid For Championship Player | OneFootball

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Leeds United have gone in with an offer for Southampton midfielder Shea Charles and ‘discussions between the two clubs are ongoing’, according to journalist Alex Crook.

Having seen off the threat of relegation last season, Leeds are keen to kick on down the road of establishing themselves as a Premier League side.

The club have acknowledged that the spending constraints of the new Squad Cost Ratio rules will have an effect, but they are still expected to make a host of signings this summer.

Free agents are especially attractive for Leeds, who recently made a move to sign German attacking midfielder Julian Brandt, though they face competition from several clubs, including Roma.

Leeds will pay fees for targets too though and they are looking to land Southampton’s Charles.

The Whites have gone in with a bid of £20m to bring Charles to Elland Road and talks between the two clubs are now very much under way.

It is unclear if Saints will consider £20m to be enough to part with Charles, or whether they try to squeeze more out of Leeds.

Interest from the Yorkshire giants in Charles is not new and dates back several years.

Leeds showed big interest in signing Charles when he was on the books at Manchester City at the start of his career.

Now the Whites will hope to finally get a deal over the line and sign the Northern Ireland international midfielder.

The Saints man is likely to be interested in the move, which would mean stepping up from the Championship to the Premier League.

Charles came through the youth set-up at Manchester City, before moving to Southampton in 2023.

He had an impressive loan stint with Sheffield Wednesday in the 2024/25 campaign as he continued his development through first team football.

An established international, Charles has been capped 32 times by Northern Ireland.

It remains to be seen if Leeds’ bid for Charles prompts more clubs to get act and rival the Whites.