Mighty Leeds Weblog

Sunderland have agreed a club-record £30m deal to sign Habib Diarra from Ligue 1 side Strasbourg; Diarra's arrival will see him is a direct replacement for Jobe Bellingham, who joined Borussia Dortmund for an initial £27.8m; Sunderland beat off competition from Leeds for Diarra The Black Cats will pay £27m up-front plus £3m in add-ons for the Senegal midfielder. The 21-year-old, who scored for Senegal against England in a friendly earlier this month, is now set for a medical before signing his contract. Diarra's arrival sees him is a direct replacement for Jobe Bellingham, who joined Borussia Dortmund for an initial £27.8m fee, with all of that transfer fee committed to pay for the Senegal international. Sunderland beat off plenty of competition for Diarra's signature, including from fellow newly-promoted Premier League side Leeds. It is another club-record deal for Sunderland following their promotion to the top flight, with their previous record only standing fo...

By Naveen Ullal Junior Firpo’s contract at Elland Road expires on Monday and will leave Leeds United as a free agent. The left-back is set to join Real Betis, and this has been reported elsewhere. On June 12th, we covered claims from Spain that the 28-year-old is one step away from returning to Real Betis. He spent five years with the La Liga club before leaving them for Barcelona in 2019. Two years later, they sold him to Leeds. Last week, El Día stated the Leeds player has agreed a contract worth around €14m for three years. On Friday, the Spanish club presented their new signing, Álvaro Valles, to the local media and he was accompanied by their sporting director, Manu Fajardo. Reporters asked the Real Betis director about Junior Firpo and Mundo Deportivo have relayed his comments. The director said his side are in talks to sign the Dominican Republic international, who will leave the Whites as a free agent. He also indicated the move is advanced. “It’s true that there ar...

By Tom Coates Sunderland are reportedly making a move to beat Leeds United to the signature of Strasbourg playmaker Habib Diarra. The 21-year-old enjoyed a stellar 2024/25 season, starring for Strasbourg as they surged into seventh place in Ligue 1. His exploits have fuelled talk of a summer switch and Leeds have been credited with interest in the attacking midfielder. Leeds reportedly submitted a £21.9m bid, although it has since been claimed the Whites may miss out on the Senegal international. Doubts regarding Leeds’ chances of landing Diarra have been intensified by reports of interest from rivals such as Aston Villa, Brighton & Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest. According to reporter Alan Nixon via his Patreon page, newly-promoted Sunderland are now making a move to sign Diarra. The Black Cats are said to be putting together a bumper £35m package in an effort to pull off what would be a major transfer coup. Diarra is said to have been identified as a replacemen...

By Kyle Newbould The Middlesbrough-born manager was in charge for some of Leeds United's greatest ever years. Legendary former Leeds United manager Don Revie will finally be remembered in his home town of Middlesbrough 36 years after his death. Revie’s name has become synonymous with the glory days of Leeds, whom he managed to a pair of First Division titles and one FA Cup triumph, among other honours, between 1961 and 1974. During that 13-year stint in charge at Elland Road he coached some of the club’s most iconic players including Billy Bremner, Jack Charlton, Norman Hunter and Eddie Gray, to name a few. The former forward’s playing days started at Leicester City, with further stints at Hull City, Manchester City, Sunderland and Leeds. He eventually retired from playing in 1962, shortly after becoming player-manager for the Whites, and took on the manager’s role full time to great success. But he was actually born in Middlesbrough and grew up just two miles away from h...

Update for supporters. Leeds United will travel to Germany in pre-season as part of preparations for the upcoming 2025/26 Premier League season, after the technical success of the camp last year helped us win the Sky Bet Championship title. Opponents and venues for fixtures were arranged earlier this year, and written assurances secured from both the German FA and our tour operator as well, given last summer we were asked at short notice by the police and local authorities not to bring supporters due to a resource strain following UEFA Euro 2024. Frustratingly, despite having matches agreed for a number of months, we have in the last week been informed that the police and local authorities will once again not grant a permit for us to play matches in front of spectators, will prohibit us from providing live updates and video streams, and have requested we discourage supporter travel. This comes despite multiple attempts to find a solution including offering various assurances, p...