Sunderland have won the race to sign Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra after Fabrizio Romano confirmed the Black Cats had come steaming in with a colossal offer that has now been accepted – leaving Leeds United to chase a major signing of their own as an alternative.
Both Leeds and Sunderland – the latter via the play-offs – have won promotion to the Premier League and are frantically trying to strengthen their squads to give themselves as good a chance as possible to stay afloat. But after all six of the sides last securing their place among the elite all suffered immediate relegations, the task of establishing yourself back among the elite has arguably never been harder.
As such, a lot of these clubs are likely to compete for many of the same targets, and the same can now be true of Strasbourg star Diarra.
The Ligue 1 side had already confirmed their willingness to sell the Senegal star this summer after a brilliant season in Ligue 1, though their president, Marc Keller, had made clear a deal would only be done if their demands were met in full.
And while Leeds have seen an opening gambit worth around £22m (€25.75m, $30m) rejected, the door has swung wide open for Sunderland to take advantage – and the Black Cats have come steaming in to quickly nail down an agreement and exchange contracts over a deal.
Revealing that the 21-year-old is now destined for Wearside, transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano posted on X: ‘More on Habib Diarra and Sunderland exclusive story overnight.
‘Documents are being exchanged with Strasbourg, initial fee worth €31.5m plus €4m add-ons. Medical already booked, here we go 100% confirmed.’
With that deal, worth an initial £26.9m, but rising to £30.3m, now agreed, the 11-times capped midfielder is now expected to seal the move in the coming days and seal with it a new club-record fee for the Black Cats.
The move for Diarra marks the second time already this summer that the Black Cats will have smashed their transfer record – the first time being the €23m (£19.7m, $26.9m) paid to Roma to turn Enzo Le Fee’s loan into a permanent deal.
However, the move for Diarra is a different kettle of fish and shows that Regis Le Bris’ side are not there simply to make up the numbers.
Per reports, they can expect to welcome their new player within the next few days, with a likely five-year deal on the table at the Stadium of Light.
As for Leeds, it is a case of going back to the drawing board.
However, their owners, 49ers Enterprises, while promising to spend as much as they can within FFP regulations this summer, have shown in the past that they won’t sign a player for an inflated fee.
And having seen their opening offer fall short for Diarra, it is understood the Whites did not make a second attempt.
That will leave Daniel Farke’s side to focus on other priorities and, according to reports earlier this week, they have already opened talks with Juventus over a stunning deal for former Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz.
And in further encouragement for Leeds, the Bianconeri have set the Whites a very achievable price for the player, though personal terms could be an issue.
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Luiz is not the only Juventus player Leeds are chasing either, after reports revealed interest in their winger Timothy Weah – though competition does exist from at least two other Premier League rivals.
Meanwhile, we exclusively revealed the news earlier this week that Leeds are confident of tying down Dan James to a new deal ahead of their Premier League return after a productive conversation with his agent and with the terms on offer now coming to light.
However, United are also considering a move to add to his signing by also bringing in one of his Slovenian compatriots after Fabrizio Romano confirmed interest from Farke’s side in a soon-to-depart Roma teenager.
