Leeds United receive fresh hope of £15m boost after club chief's 'high quality' comment
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Rasmus Kristensen has received fresh praise from Eintracht Frankfurt’s sporting director in a boost to Leeds United’s hope of securing a permanent sale.
Kristensen got himself a second move away from Elland Road after triggering an exit clause in his contract that remained active, with Leeds failing to achieve promotion back into the Premier League. After spending last season at AS Roma, where he struggled, the right-back decided to join former Whites teammate Robin Koch at Eintracht Frankfurt.
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Hide AdAnd the Dane has enjoyed a strong start to life in Germany, playing every minute of his new side’s Bundesliga campaign and helping them towards two wins in three. Local outlet Frankfurter Rundschau report that after struggling at full-back in the previous campaign, Frankfurt found ‘top-class’ players over the summer - one being Kristensen.
And the Leeds loanee has impressed those in charge at Deutsche Bank Park, particularly sporting director Timmo Hardung. "The whole team has to work. But with Kristensen and [Arthur] Theate we have two players who can play as central defenders or full-backs at a high quality level,” Hardung told the local media outlet. “This makes it easier to change the formation.”
Leeds will have a keen eye on Kristensen’s performance-levels at Frankfurt, having managed to negotiate an option-to-buy in his loan deal over the summer, with reports suggesting it could be worth £15million. That would represent a decent profit for Elland Road chiefs on a signing who has flattered to deceive since arriving in West Yorkshire.
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Hide AdKristensen winning plenty of fans in Frankfurt
Kristensen did struggle in the opening-weekend league defeat against Borussia Dortmund but has seemingly found form at Frankfurt. And the 27-year-old has also made a positive early impression on head coach Dino Toppmöller, who spoke highly of his new signing earlier this season.
“He has the potential to become a fan favourite,” Toppmöller told German outlet Kicker recently. “Because he has his heart in the right place, has the right attitude, the line marches up and down and has a crisp duel leadership. We are very happy with him, he is welcome to continue like this.”
Whether Kristensen’s form can continue remains to be seen and it will likely take an excellent season for Frankfurt to activate their option, but a year of regular top-flight football would do no harm to the Dane’s price-tag. Leeds made clear in the announcement of his move that the defender had no intention to stay and fight for promotion under Daniel Farke, as fellow loan exits Brenden Aaronson and Max Wober have done.