Leeds United have completed the signing of Diego Llorente from La Liga side Real Sociedad for an undisclosed fee, thought to be around €20 million.
The 27-year old is Marcelo Bielsa’s seventh signing of the transfer window and becomes the second Spanish player to move to Elland Road, with striker Rodrigo joining earlier in the transfer window from Valencia.
Capped five times by his native Spain, the central defender has signed a four-year contract at Elland Road and bolsters Leeds’ backline which includes new signing Robin Koch from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg. He was part of their most recent squad that faced Germany and Ukraine in the UEFA Nations League.
Leeds United Confirm Signing of Diego Llorente
ℹ️ OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: #RealSociedad and @LUFC have reached an agreement in principle for the transfer of @diego_2llorente. Eskerrik asko, thank you! We wish you the best of luck in this new stage of your career, Diego!#AurreraReala pic.twitter.com/hnJvxcXQcN
— Real Sociedad 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 (@RealSociedadEN) September 22, 2020
Alternative Targets
Leeds’ move for Llorente comes after missing out on number one target Ben White and Josko Gvardiol. White spent last season on-loan at the club but recently signed a new contract with Brighton & Hove Albion. The club also had three bids turned down for the 22-year old central defender.
After failing to sign their number one target, the Yorkshire club had agreed on a deal with Dinamo Zagreb for Gvardiol, who turned down the contract offer and is set to join RB Leipzig instead.
Diego Llorente to Leeds is done. He’ll be the next signing. Gvardiol turned down #LUFC bid and he’s going to RB Leipzig…
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 22, 2020
Llorente joined Sociedad from Real Madrid in 2017 for €6 million and has had previous loan spells at Rayo Vallecano and Malaga. He was an integral part of the Sociedad’s defence, making 30 appearances last season as they finished sixth in La Liga.
According to Marca, Real Madrid are set to profit in the transfer of academy graduate Llorente receiving around €4 million. As part of the deal that saw the defender sign for Sociedad, the Galacticos retained a 30% clause of any profit made for the defender.
Leeds are continuing to be active in the transfer market with reports of interest in Manchester United’s Dan James as well as several others.
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