Leeds: £8.5m star now ‘wants to move’ to Elland Road | OneFootball

Leeds United have been heavily linked with Joseph Paintsil and Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth has provided an update on the situation to GIVEMESPORT.

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The Genk forward has also been linked with Southampton and Burnley, as he sets his sights on a move to England before the summer transfer deadline passes.

Leeds United transfer news – Joseph Paintsil

According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, Leeds made an offer worth in the region of £8.5 million to sign the 25-year-old Genk midfielder.

The report suggests the Championship side’s proposal would include a sell-on clause to the Belgian outfit, and while the club had initially agreed a swap deal with Southampton involving striker Paul Onuachu, the Ghana international would much prefer to head to the Yorkshire giants.

Sky Sports’ David Reed confirmed Leeds were in advanced talks to sign the forward as United boss Daniel Farke is desperately trying to get more players in ahead of the looming transfer deadline after a tumultuous start to life back in the Championship.

In 143 appearance for the Belgian side, Paintsil has registered 57 goal contributions (32G/25), something with which Leeds will be hoping to add to their forward line after drawing two of their four opening games of the season.

However, The Athletic’s Phil Hay reported that a move to England is currently at a ‘standstill’ as a result of a dispute between the player and Genk over possible bonuses owed to him.

Alex Crook of talkSPORT recently spoke to GIVEMESPORT, reporting that the deal between Leeds and Genk had hit a “complicated” stage, suggesting the possibility of the forward not getting his move after all.

What has Dharmesh Sheth said about Paintsil?

Sheth believes that the Belgian club should allow Painstil to leave due to the irrefusable offers coming in from the Championship.

The reputable journalist understands that despite reports that Southampton’s approach included ‘favorable terms’, the 25-year-old wants to play in the colours of Leeds United.

Sheth told GIVEMESPORT: “I think Leeds still believe that Paintsil wants to go to the club. It just could come to a bit of brinkmanship towards the end of the window on whether Genk and Paintsil can sort out their dispute to allow this deal to happen, because for Genk this would be big money.”

“And it's one of those situations where ‘can they refuse it?’ They probably don't want to refuse it. They probably still want to do the deal with Southampton, but they're probably aware that Paintsil’s preference is probably to go to Leeds.”

What’s next for Leeds United?

All summer long Leeds have been struggling to keep a hold of Italian winger Wilfried Gnonto, fending off interest from Everton, with the player even being excluded from first-team training sessions by Farke after reportedly pushing for an exit away from Elland Road.

However, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post, their chances of keeping the 19-year-old, whose goal last weekend against Ipswich helped Leeds win their first championship game of the season, have been boosted after The Toffees’ signing of former Udinese forward Beto instead.

With Friday’s 11pm deadline looming, Leeds’ attention now appears to have turned to AS Roma winger, Ola Solbakken.

Simon Jones of Mail Online has reported that the Whites have opened talks with the Italian giants for the 24-year-old, who is expected to be part of a contingency plan should Leeds lose Gnonto or Luis Sinistierra, who has drawn interest from Everton and Crystal Palace, on deadline day.

The report suggests Solbakken, who only joined Roma back in January, is already looking to move elsewhere after mainly being deployed as a second striker off the bench, scoring one goal in 14 appearances for the side.

With Romelu Lukaku’s arrival at the Stadio Olimpico from Chelsea, Solbakken’s future as a regular for the first-team looks to have been hindered even further.

Prior to his arrival at Roma, the 24-year-old featured in 91 appearances for Norwegian side, FK Bodo/Glimt, registering 44 goal contributions (20G/24A), per Transfer Markt.

£4 million, with Leeds looking set to be busy from now until the end of the summer window.