Leeds greenlight to sign Aston Villa star with midfield rebuild planned in £45m double deal
Leeds United are making plans to add TWO midfield players to their ranks after learning Aston Villa’s reduced price to sign Emiliano Buendia and with Strasbourg’s president revealing he will not stand in the way of Daniel Farke’s next top target from moving to the Premier League.
The Whites’ summer recruitment drive is finally up and running as they prepare for their return to Premier League action. Having agreed the capture of former Manchester City frontman Lukas Nmecha on a free transfer from Wolfsburg, Leeds United are also soon expected to announce the signing of their second new arrival in the form of Udinese defender Jaka Bijol.
The Slovenian international has agreed a three-year deal at Elland Road, having joined from the Serie A side in a package worth €22m (£17.8m, $24m).
However, Farke and sporting director Adam Underwood are not resting on their laurels and they have now been given what looks like a significant green light to bring in two more recruits this summer – and the capture of the pair could change the shape of their midfield in the 2025/26 campaign.
First up, the Whites have learned that Aston Villa will not stand in their way of a deal for Buendia, who has been a long-term target of Farke’s. The Argentina international spent the latter half of last season on loan with Bayer Leverkusen, but despite the departure of Florian Wirtz in a club-record deal, the Bundesliga side have passed up on the chance to make his stay permanent.
However, the 28-year-old has been told he does not have a future at Villa Park and, according to Caught Offside, Unai Emery’s side are prepared to let him leave for a fee of £20m, and with Leeds the club to have already shown interest.
With Buendia seen as a possible upgrade on Brenden Aaronson in the No.10 shirt, Leeds have also been on the trail of Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra.
And while Leeds have already seen one offer worth £21m (€24.5m, $28m) rejected by the Ligue 1 side, an update from their president suggests a deal is there to be done for the Premier League new boys.
IN-DEPTH ⚪🟡🔵 Every completed Leeds United transfer in summer 2025: Signings, exits, loans
Leeds target Habib Diarra cleared for Premier League move
The Senegal international, who recently scored in his country’s historic 3-1 win over England at the City Ground, finds himself in high demand this summer.
And while Leeds are not alone in their interest – both Nottingham Forest and Villa have also been credited with interest in recent days – the box-to-box number eight has at least been cleared to make an exit from the Ligue 1 side this summer after a significant update from Strasbourg president Marc Keller.
“There’s one player who’s due to leave based on a promise I made to him two years ago: our captain, Habib Diarra,” Keller said on RMC’s After Foot show this week, before admitting that a tempting offer will convince them to sell.
“When he extended his contract, we told him he was extending it, but that he wouldn’t leave until June 2025. So if we get an interesting offer for him and for us, he could leave.”
While Leeds’ initial offer of £21m was knocked back, it’s understood an offer of £25m (€29m, $33.5m) will convince them to sell.
Leeds United transfer latest: Romano confirms interest in Roma star;
Meanwhile, United plan to add to the imminent signing of Bijol with one of his Slovenian compatriots after Fabrizio Romano confirmed interest from Farke’s side in a soon-to-depart Roma teenager.
The Whites have also been linked with a number of other stars in the last few days – and we have provided the lowdown and assessed the chances of all of Max Aarons, Mateus Fernandes and Rodrigo Muniz moving to Elland Road.
On the subject of Muniz, our transfer correspondent Fraser Fletcher has confirmed that interest in the Fulham striker is genuine and, having revealed the Cottagers’ hefty asking price for the Brazilian, we can reveal two other names on the Whites’ radar.
Leeds midfield target Habib Diarra excelled for Strasbourg this season
Habib Diarra stats: Games 30 Goals 4 Assists 5 Chances created 26 Take-ons completed 13 Tackles 22 Shot accuracy 60% Passing accuracy 86.5%
