Phil Hay: Leeds United unlikely to move for Rodrigo De Paul in January

Rodrigo De Paul
Rodrigo De Paul

According to Phil Hay of The Athletic, Leeds United are unlikely to move for Rodrigo De Paul in the January transfer window.

Leeds were heavily linked with a move for De Paul last summer. Hay claims that the Whites made an enquiry about the Udinese forward, but they never showed concrete interest after being informed that it would take in excess of £30 million to secure his signature.

While De Paul was certainly on Leeds’ radar, the club made very little effort in luring him to Elland Road. Put simply, they felt he was too expensive.

De Paul has been linked with Leeds again in January, and this time encouraged by him with a cryptic tweet – “New Year, new challenges, I’m ready” on January 2.

However, Hay claims that Leeds are not thinking of making a concrete attempt to sign him, while sources close to the player also feel that it’s unlikely the Whites would come up with a future bid for him.

SL View: Any potential January signing for Leeds? 

Graham Smyth of The Yorkshire Evening Post has claimed that Victor Orta has a list of transfer targets ready in case the club need to delve into the market, but Leeds’ January business is far more likely to revolve around loans for their youngsters than adding new faces for the senior team.

Leeds probably could look to bring in a new defender with Robin Koch being a long-term absentee after undergoing surgery. Diego Llorente and Liam Cooper are also currently out injured and it leaves Marcelo Bielsa short of options at the back.

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