Leeds close in on £13.5m swoop for AC Milan star — Mail 19/8/25

Leeds close in on £13.5m swoop for AC Milan star - as Daniel Farke lauds his side's 'magic' Premier League return with 'outstanding' victory over Everton

By SIMON JONES and AADAM PATEL, SPORTS REPORTER

Leeds United are close to agreement on a deal for AC Milan winger Noah Okafor after triumphing 1-0 over Everton on their return to the Premier League on Monday night.

The Switzerland international is open to the move and has discussed a potential four year deal.

Leeds are understood to be offering around £13.5million for the 25-year old who has drawn attention from the likes of Arsenal and Everton.

Okafor was signed by Milan from RB Salzburg and has suffered some niggling injuries over the past three seasons.

He spent part of last season on loan with title-winning Napoli but only managed five appearances. He played the full 90 minutes when Leeds faced AC Milan in Dublin in pre-season.

Leeds have been willing to gamble on some of their acquisitions this summer in the hope of keeping them fit and bringing extra quality to Daniel Farke's newly promoted squad.

Farke described his side's return to the Premier League as ‘magic’ after Lukas Nmecha’s contentious 84th-minute penalty gave them the victory over the Toffees at Elland Road.

With six minutes left, Everton captain James Tarkowski handled Anton Stach's shot and Nmecha, who came off the bench, dispatched the spot-kick with just his third touch to send the Elland Road crowd wild.

‘It was a magic night. It was special,’ said Farke. ‘We are happy and grateful for our supporters who had to suffer a lot over the years.

'It is great to see the joy and pride in their eyes and great to give the supporters who are so emotional and care so much about this amazing club. It was a top performance. We were dominant in the first half and had 12 shots.

'That’s outstanding for a newly promoted side. I was a bit worried because we were so dominant and normally you score.

'It can be costly when you don't take your opportunities. But Lukas Nmecha took his opportunity. A hard-fought win but also a well-deserved win.'

Meanwhile, Tarkowski described the decision to award a penalty against him as ‘bizarre’ and insisted that it cost Everton a point.

‘It’s not a penalty. As soon as the referee blew, I was pretty confident it would be overturned,’ he said.

‘My first question to him (referee) was “if my arm is by my side then is it a penalty and he said no.” There’s nothing unnatural about my arm being at my side. The ball is allowed to hit your arm. I've since read that I've leaned into the ball.

'I can't understand it. The linesman gave it and he was 45 yards away so I don't understand how he can see what I've done with my arm from that angle. It’s a bizarre, bizarre moment. It cost us a point in the end.'

Everton boss David Moyes agreed, saying he was disappointed with Chris Kavanagh’s decision but admitted that Leeds were the better side on the night.

‘I’m really disappointed and unless you cut the boys hand off, I don't know where he goes,’ said Moyes. I think the referees have had a poor opening weekend but there’s lots of other frustrations.

'We didn’t play well on the night. Great credit to Leeds. They were incredibly intense, especially in the first 30 minutes. We played into their hands but they were a handful.’