Leeds United loanee obligation to buy details revealed as Whites set to make sale and £10m loss

The Spanish international is not expected to return to Elland Road this summer after 18 months away, but could still be on the lookout for a new club after signing with the Italian side on a permanent deal.

Llorente initially joined Roma on loan last winter and has spent the past 13 months in the Italian capital. Over the summer, Leeds negotiated an extension to Llorente's initial loan move, permitting the 30-year-old defender to remain with the Serie A outfit for the duration of 2023/24.

Roma also arranged for an obligation to buy clause to be inserted into the deal, due to Leeds should Llorente feature in 50 per cent of the team's matches - a figure which has already been met with Llorente playing 29 times for I Giallorossi. This clause will raise €5 million (£4.3 million) for Leeds' coffers, which will be reflected as an estimated £10 million loss in Leeds' set of accounts for 2023/24, as Llorente was originally signed from Real Sociedad for somewhere in the region of £15 million.

Nevertheless, the millions Leeds do recoup are likely to be reinvested in the playing squad, especially if the team clinch promotion back to the Premier League. Should the Whites remain a Championship outfit, Llorente's sale fee will most probably go towards player wages in 2024/25.

According to Metropolitan Magazine in Italy, Roma plan to move Llorente on this summer anyway and hope to turn a €5 million profit on their investment. The Serie A club estimate Llorente's market value at around €10 million, owing to January interest from Paris Saint-Germain and are hopeful of recouping a similar fee for his services in four-to-five months' time.

While Llorente's market value currently exceeds the figure agreed in Roma's purchase option with Leeds, United were left in a weak negotiating position last summer given the player's desire to remain in Italy, Roma's Financial Fair Play issues, their reluctance to commit to a greater sum and Leeds' need to shave Llorente from the wage bill following relegation.