Florence now prepared to spend €12m on Union Berlin defender Diogo Leite | OneFootball

Sport Bild reports that Fiorentina wishes to recruit Union Berlin centre-back Diogo Leite to the Serie A as soon as possible. The 26-year-old sits on a contract set to expire at the end of the current Bundesliga campaign. Despite the fact that he has been re-integrated into head coach Steffen Baumgart’s squad, Union will presumably still wish to cash in on Leite in January.

Leite’s desire to transfer out led to him being excluded from Baumgart’s plans earlier this season. Union’s attempts to organize Leite’s sale this past autumn fell through near the end of the transfer deadline. The Köpenick club reportedly rejected a €10m offer from the Italians and demanded a €12m tender. 

After missing out on the first three matchdays, Leite has started the last seven Union league fixtures. Without him in the lineup, Union conceded eight goals in their first three matches. Once Leite returned, Baumgart’s squad only allowed in seven goals in seven games. 

Union had to fight to retain both Leite and his valuable central defensive counterpart Danilho Doekhi last summer. Now that Doehki has emerged as a powerful goal-scoring threat, it stands to reason that Union may demand more money for both players. 

Leite retains an estimated market value of €12m, but die Eisernen can justifiably call for more. Doehki’s current estimated market value of €13m is sure to rise in the Transfermarkt November round of updates. 

GGFN | Peter Weis