Leeds have been told to pay €36 million (£30 million) in one lump sum for Nahitan Nandez, according to a report from Calciomercato.
As good as the 25-year-old midfielder is, that seems like a lot of money for Whites boss Marcelo Bielsa to be spending on one player this summer.
And Leeds should be extremely wary of bringing the Uruguay international to Elland Road for that kind of fee.
Nandez is a tenacious tackler and has bundles of energy and stamina.
The gritty South American seems ideally suited to the Premier League. On the face of it, he is exactly what Leeds are missing in the middle of the park.
However, spending £30m on Nandez would represent a huge risk for the Yorkshire outfit.
He has no experience whatsoever of playing in the Premier League.
There have been plenty of players throughout the years who have arrived in England from Italy for huge transfer fees and failed to succeed.
Mario Balotelli, Juan Sebastien Veron, Fabio Borini, Stevan Jovetic and Andriy Shevchenko are just some of the names who have struggled after swapping Serie A for the Premier League.
There is a chance that the same would happen with Nandez if he joined Leeds this summer.
We’re not suggesting that Leeds shouldn’t sign Nandez. He is a very good player and has been described as ‘outstanding’ by those who have watched him play.
Perhaps £20-25m would represent better value for the Whites. Whether Cagliari would accept that kind of fee is another matter entirely, of course.
He is under contract until 2024 with the Serie A outfit, so they hold all the cards.
Leeds need to be smart this summer, and if Nandez can’t be picked up for less than £25m, Bielsa should look elsewhere.
Read: Leeds chasing winger.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
