Ornstein gives Leeds major encouragement over Jorgen Strand Larsen transfer as Whites’ main danger is named

In partnership with

TEAMtalk

·27 January 2026

Ornstein gives Leeds major encouragement over Jorgen Strand Larsen transfer as Whites’ main danger is named

Leeds United have been given further optimism that a deal for Jorgen Strand Larsen is there to be done after David Ornstein shared the Wolves’ striker’s thoughts on a move to Elland Road, and while a second source has discussed the complexities of a deal, the Whites have been warned about the side that poses the biggest danger to their chances of landing the Norwegian.

The Whites picked up a valuable point at Everton on Monday night to pull six points clear of the relegation zone. And while a home date with title-hopefuls Arsenal represents another very difficult assignment for Daniel Farke’s side, Leeds are moving forward with optimism that they will be a Premier League side once again next season.

OneFootball Videos

To help further their chances, Farke would like to add another striker to his mix. While Dominic Calvert-Lewin has performed brilliantly this season and the club do have Lukas Nmecha as back-up, an injury to either of them would leave Leeds without much in the way of quality cover.

As a result, we exclusively brought the news a fortnight ago that Leeds had been offered the chance to sign Strand Larsen, with intermediaries in talks with the Whites over a potential deal.

Over the weekend, it emerged that Leeds had seen an initial offer rejected but have since raised that proposal to £33m up front and a further £6m in add-ons – coming close to Wolves’ £40m valuation of Strand Larsen.

Now, according to Ornstein, Leeds have been encouraged that a deal is there to be done, with The Athletic reporter revealing that their ‘pursuit is ongoing’ and that Strand Larsen and his agent, who is a Leeds United season ticket holder, ‘like the idea of a move to Elland Road’.

Ornstein insists that the Strand Larsen transfer ‘is one of the main situations to keep an eye on as the market draws towards a close’…

However, sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that the Whites are not the only side keen on a deal and one of their Premier League rivals are gearing up to make a firm approach of their own in the final days of the winter window…

Source explains Strand Larsen transfer intricacies as Palace join hunt

Indeed, with Crystal Palace close to agreeing the sale of Jean-Philippe Mateta for a fee in the region of £35m to £40m – Nottingham Forest have already agreed personal terms over his signing – we understand the Eagles are ready to firm up their interest in his signing by launching a concrete bid for his services.

It’s also understood they could go in with a higher bid than that launched by Leeds, presenting the Whites with a headache.

Whether the West Yorkshire side would then raise that offer would be open to some conjecture, but given they are already running close to their PSR limits, an updated bid to match one from Palace would likely prove a tough ask.

Either way, the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth has explained the delicate situation Leeds find themselves in over a proposed deal for Strand Larsen.

“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’,” Smyth explained.

“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.”