Jorgen Strand Larsen transfer talks ongoing for Leeds as secret weapon in negotiations emerges | OneFootball

Leeds United are continuing talks with Wolves aimed at securing Jorgen Strand Larsen’s signature in what could amount to a club-record transfer and amid claims the Whites have submitted a new and improved bid for the 75-goal star.

Daniel Farke is determined to add another striker to his squad to enhance his side’s chances of staying in the Premier League and have positioned themselves firmly in the race to sign the 25-year-old. However, with competition for his signature tough and with Wolves determined to hold firm to their valuation, any move to bring Strand Larsen to Elland Road is far from certain.

We exclusively first revealed, though, that interest in the Wolves frontman is genuine – later confirmed by David Ornstein – and with it since emerging that Leeds United‘s initial offer has been rejected.

Over the weekend, it was reported that Leeds have since raised that bid to £33m up front with a further £6m in add-ons – taking it close to Wolves’ £40m asking price – and with hopes growing that a deal could be struck.

But as of Monday morning, we understand Leeds are yet to receive a firm response from Wolves over their offer and, unless a dramatic change occurs, any decision over the Norwegian’s future is likely to drag out for some time yet.

From the Leeds point of view, any deal for Strand Larsen will push the club to within the boundaries of PSR, and the club would likely need a sizeable sale to balance the books before June 30.

However, we do understand the club feels it is a deal they do have the capacity to do – and is one that is seen as important given Farke’s preference now to set his side up in a 3-5-2 formation.

That said, a reported ‘secret weapon’ for Leeds in the talks could emerge in the form of Whites left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson, who played with Strand Larsen for a season in the Netherlands with Groningen.

The Norwegian scored nine times in 32 games across the 2020/21 campaign – four of them which were assisted by Gudmundsson. The player could yet be tempted to rekindle that partnership again at Elland Road, though it obviously won’t be the decisive factor.

There had been interest in Strand Larsen from overseas, and we understand clubs in Germany and Italy had registered an interest. However, Sky Sports has now reported that the player’s preference is to stay in the Premier League.

Wolves, for their part, appear happy to bide their time. They are open, though, to his sale, knowing it will help them prepare for next season and what they hope will be a successful push for promotion from the Championship.

While their form under Rob Edwards has improved of late, a great escape is already deemed beyond them, and their management team are instead looking ahead and planning forward for life back in the second tier. The sale of Strand Larsen this window is seen as one option they are open to to help them prepare for that.

Graham Smyth’s verdict on Leeds’ Strand Larsen move

Providing his own insight into the negotiations between the clubs, the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth has explained the inner-complexities of such a difficult transfer, and also having explained why the Whites are taking a patient approach to land a striker who has an overall career record of 75 goals in 264 appearances.

Speaking on the Inside Elland Road podcast, Smyth said: “Leeds have bid and I think sometimes people think it’s just a case of faxing ‘£30m’ and the faxing back ‘no’, Then faxing ‘£30m and one penny’ and then faxing back the word ‘no’.

“It’s very much a conversation and deals take time, they take long conversations and Leeds are still actively pursuing him. So I think what we can derive from that is that they are still in conversation with Wolves and they are still in active talks with Wolves.

“So even if their bid didn’t land and Wolves didn’t jump at it, which let’s be honest, they are not going to, then I know it’s not the end of Leeds’ interest in the player.

“They haven’t moved on, and I think that’s what they’d be saying if they wanted to draw a line under this or if they’d put in their absolute best and Wolves had knocked it back.”

Smyth added: “Even then, it would not make sense for Leeds to leave the table because I’m not buying this Wolves line that they are content to keep the player until the summer.

“We all know the difficulty of player trading in a post-relegation apocalyptic landscape and whilst it hasn’t come out that the player has got a relegation clause, would it surprise you that a player playing at Wolves, who have struggled in the last couple of years, highly rated player wanted by Newcastle last summer, would it surprise you if he had something in there that would drastically reduce the money they would get in the summer if they went down? I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Leeds round-up: Fulham chase South Korean; Buonanotte on a permanent deal

Meanwhile, Fulham are determined to get a deal done for a former Celtic striker, sources have told TEAMtalk, with Leeds United also offered the chance to get a deal done for the South Korea international.

Elsewhere, claims made by Fabrizio Romano that Leeds are in talks over a €15m deal to sign an Austrian attacker have been emphatically dismissed in a real mic-drop moment by Smyth.

While Leeds have made one signing so far this month, Facundo Buonanotte, sources can reveal what Leeds must do if they are to push through a permanent deal for the on-loan Argentina international playmaker.