Announcement coming: £18m Leeds man about to follow Sinisterra out the door
The player is one step away from sealing his Elland Road exit.
Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Bournemouth had struck a permanent deal to sign Luis Sinisterra from Leeds United. Sinisterra had initially joined the Cherries on a season-long loan with an option to buy, but Andoni Iraola’s side were clearly delighted by what they saw from the Colombian and acted early to tie him up long-term for a fee of £20m. Leeds have now lost two players to the south coast outfit in the space of a season after Tyler Adams made the same move last summer, but they’re satisfied that they’ve avoided a loss on the man they signed from Feyenoord.
Another player who left Leeds on 2023 was centre-back Diego Llorente, who joined Serie A side Roma. The key difference, though, was that Llorente made his move in January, agreeing to an initial 18-month spell, and there’s believed to be a clause in the agreement whereby Roma have an obligation to buy the Spaniard if certain conditions are met.
Llorente now closes in on Leeds exit
Now, according to Il Romanista, Roma are “one step away” from signing Leeds man Llorente in a permanent deal. The Italian outfit are determined to reinforce their defence for next season and view Llorente as a key piece.
He will automatically join if he continues to play as nears the aformentioned criteria, and there’s a feeling that “only the official confirmation” is missing at this stage. The move, then, looks like an inevitability.
£18m Llorente may not be last loanee to say goodbye
Leeds paid around £18m to sign Llorente from Real Sociedad in 2020 following their promotion to the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa. In a campaign that was affected by three separate injuries, he played 15 top-flight games and helped the Whites finish in ninth place. The year after, he appeared 28 times in a successful survival bid, but he slipped down the pecking order under Jesse Marsch in the first half of 2022/23 before departing.
