Star ‘One Of The Hottest Names’ On Leeds United’s Target List As Whites Move Towards Talks | OneFootball

Leeds United have identified a defender in Italy as ‘one of the hottest names’ on their shortlist and negotiations could get going in the next few days as contact has been established.

Having seen Ipswich Town, Southampton and Leicester City struggle to keep Premier League attackers at bay, Leeds want to bolster their defensive options.

Ethan Ampadu and Joe Rodon formed a solid central defensive pairing for much of last season, but Ampadu is often favoured for a role in midfield.

Leeds’ bid to bring in another centre-back has led them to Serie A and to Udinese; they have already shown interest in Marseille’s Leonardo Balerdi, but he is now also wanted by Juventus.

Slovakia international Jaka Bijol is the player in Leeds’ sights and, according to Italian outlet Tutto Mercato, he is ‘one of the hottest names’ on the Whites’ shortlist of targets.

The Elland Road club have had contact over a deal and negotiations could get going in just a few days in order to agree a deal.

Bijol, 26, is highly rated at Udinese, who he joined from Russian giants CSKA Moscow in 2022.

The Serie A side are though ready to sell him if their asking price is met.

A fee of around €20m is estimated as being needed in order to persuade Udinese that they should cash in on the Slovakian.

He made 34 appearances in Serie A for Udinese over the course of last season and showed a real propensity to go into the referee’s notebook.

Bijol was booked on no fewer than eleven occasions and was even sent off once.

Leeds will be hoping he can show more discipline in the Premier League if he arrives at Elland Road during the course of the summer transfer window.