Fresh Leeds United transfer boost as £3.3m target 'desperate to leave' amid market value claim

Leeds United have received a third boost in as many days regarding their pursuit of Dejan Ljubičić with fresh reports in Germany insisting the midfielder has ‘wanted the move for weeks’.

Ljubičić emerged as a target for Leeds earlier this summer, with Daniel Farke keen on midfield reinforcements after seeing Glen Kamara join Stade Rennais in an £8million deal. An initial bid worth £3.3m (€4m) was rejected by current club FC Koln and despite no suggestion of an improved offer being submitted, interest in the 26-year-old is thought to remain.

Having unexpectedly missed Koln’s DFB-Pokal victory over SV Sandhausen last weekend, reportedly due to knee problems despite training all week, German outlet Kicker claimed Ljubičić was attempting to push through a move to Elland Road. And BILD corroborated that claim on Tuesday, insisting the Austrian was keen on joining Leeds.

And BILD provided a fresh update regarding Ljubičić on Wednesday morning, claiming the midfielder is ‘desperate’ to swap Koln for Leeds and has been for several weeks. They add that the Whites are yet to improve on their £3.3m offer but suggest an increase of that number could prove successful.

Ljubičić is into the final year of his contract at Koln, leaving the 2. Bundesliga outfit with a difficult decision to make. The midfielder’s market value is said to have ‘already halved’ over the past six months and a refusal to sell, either this summer or in January, could see one of the club’s best players leave for nothing in a year’s time.

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Koln are thought to have rejected approaches from Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg last summer, with Sky Germany reporting at the time that Ljubičić was valued between €8-10m (£6.8-£8.5m). It remains to be seen how much they would now accept but the midfielder’s contract situation, plus his apparent desire to leave, makes them vulnerable.

The issue is somewhat complicated by the fact Koln are under a transfer embargo, having been found guilty of a breach of contract when signing teenage forward Jaka Cuber Potocnik from Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubljana in January 2022. The German outfit would therefore be unable to replace Ljubičić from outside purchases this summer, needing instead to promote from within.

Koln’s head of first-team football, Thomas Kessler, was still confident in keeping Ljubičić earlier this month. “We have even built an Austrian coaching team for him so that he will lack nothing here,” he said. “So I firmly believe that he will remain our player.”

Leeds have nine days left to conclude any transfer business and are known to be in the market for midfield reinforcements, with Farke stating multiple times his desire for a central midfielder. Recruitment chiefs have shown a willingness to remain patient when it comes to securing signings, but a busy week is expected in West Yorkshire.