Leeds United have received a possible boost in their pursuit of Roland Sallai with reports suggesting SC Freiburg ‘must sell’ before moving on an attacking signing of their own.
Sallai was first revealed as a Leeds target via the YEP’s Inside Elland Road newsletter on Wednesday, with recruitment chiefs harbouring hope of a late-summer coup that might not have been possible earlier in the transfer window. The 26-year-old has vast international and European experience but is into the final year of his contract in south-west Germany, opening up the possibility of a move away.
The YEP understands Sallai is on a list of possible options before August 30 and those in charge at Elland Road might hope to benefit from recent developments at the Europa-Park Stadium. Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg reports that Freiburg are exploring a deal to sign Hertha BSC attacker Fabian Reese, although they must sanction an exit before progressing with a deal.
Plettenberg claims Freiburg ‘must sell at least one offensive player’ before moving forward with their pursuit of Reese, who is open to the move and valued at around €10million (£8.5m) by his parent club. There is no suggestion who could be sold but if Reese is to replace a current option, then one of their wide attackers seems the most likely exit.
Both Reese and Sallai can play across the attacking unit and so the former could feasibly replace the latter. Furthermore, only Sallai and left-back Berkay Yilmaz are into the final year of their respective contracts, a point at which decisions need to be made by the club.
Leeds’ biggest challenge might be convincing Sallai to drop into the Championship, with the Hungarian international accustomed to top-flight domestic and European football. BILD’s report in July named the Premier League as his ‘dream destination’ but Elland Road chiefs might hope that if a direct move does not materialise, they can sell the project of reaching top-tier English football via Championship promotion.
Whether Leeds have the necessary squad depth to convince targets they are genuine promotion candidates remains to be seen, but the expected signing of Largie Ramazani should provide a much-needed dose of optimism in West Yorkshire. The 23-year-old arrived in the UK overnight and underwent medical tests on Thursday, following the agreement of a £10m fee with Spanish second-tier outfit Almeria.
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