UCL giants want £10m deal wrapped up for Llorente in intriguing double-sale — Leeds All Over 20/2/24
Kris Smith
Leeds United centre-back Diego Llorente is enjoying his loan
stint with Roma, and the Italian side want to sign him permanently in the
coming months, but so do PSG.
Leeds’ loan contingent are enduring mixed results at present
after leaving a relegated side in the summer, with some performing well while
others are struggling.
For Diego Llorente, a second loan stint with Roma in the
Serie A is bearing fruit for him as he nails his place in the lineup.
Llorente’s form in the past 12 months in the Italian capital
has seen him become a mainstay at the back, helped by the injury dilemmas
facing both Jose Mourinho and his recent replacement Daniele De Rossi.
Now, Metropolitan Magazine are claiming that the Serie A
side are looking to sign the defender permanently, as has been reported
frequently elsewhere.
The fee being suggested here is in the region of €5million
(£4.28m), which is significantly lower than the £18million Leeds paid for him
in 2020 – but due to the duration of his contract and amortisation, could see
Leeds bring in enough to keep the books healthy in the Championship.
An intriguing insight comes from this fresh report, though,
that Roma’s plan with Llorente signing on a decreased valuation is so they can
make a solid profit on him to PSG – managed by ex-Spain boss Luis Enrique, who
gave Llorente his most recent cap.
The French giants are interested in signing the defender,
and Roma would then be looking for a fee closer to €10-12m (£8.57-£10.29m).
Llorente won’t be bringing in a huge deal of money for us,
but it’s a nice boost to our income to have him sold.
It’s very clear now that he’s not going to be part of our
plans beyond just being sold, so the sooner the better.
It would be frustrating if Roma manage to double the money
we end up getting for him though, in the same summer too.
