Leeds United target Barry Douglas left out of Wolves friendly following Whites bid

Leeds are understood to have agreed to meet a £5m asking price for one of the driving forces behind Wolves’ spectacular run to the Championship title last season and will try to tie up the move in the next few days.

United’s dealings in the summer market are under intense scrutiny with only two loan signings completed so far but they are understood to have tabled offers for four more players, including 28-year-old Douglas.

Wolves left the defender out of their pre-season game against Stoke City on Wednesday evening amid the interest from the Whites.

The Scot, who has less than 12 months left on his contract at Molineux, was a revelation in Nuno’s Wolves team last term, providing 14 assists in his position as a left wing-back. He scored the opening goal in Leeds’ 4-1 defeat away at Wolves in November.

Wolves paid a £1m fee to take Douglas - formerly of Dundee United and Queens Park - from Turkish club Konyaspor last June and quickly converted him into one of the most effective attacking full-backs in the Championship.

He made 38 starts and was a surprise omission from the EFL’s team of the year.

Nuno, however, is reported to be on the verge of signing Jonny Castro on loan from Atletico Madrid, threatening Douglas’ place in the first team.

United head coach Marcelo Bielsa wants a new left-back and has sanctioned a move for Douglas with the summer deadline for permanent signings less than two weeks away.

The Argentinian has used Stuart Dallas and Laurens De Bock in that position during Leeds’ pre-season friendly but wants a player of Douglas’ calibre to complement right-back Luke Ayling.

Leeds are also pushing to bring in a centre-forward, a midfielder and a winger ahead of the start of the season but a spate of failed negotiations have put the club under major pressure.

Negotiations with Abel Hernandez and Matej Vydra ran into trouble earlier in the summer and an attempt to sign Florian Jozefzoon from Brentford last week fell foul of a higher wage offer from Derby County.

The YEP understands that Leeds have been monitoring Middlesbrough striker Patrick Bamford since their attempt to land Vydra from Derby County faltered over his demand for a salary in excess of £50,000 a week.

Bamford featured 43 times during Boro’s run to the Championship play-offs last season and scored 13 times, including twice in a 3-0 win over Leeds in March.

Boro boss Tony Pulis has identified other players who he wants to move off the club’s wage bill, including forward Britt Assombalonga, and Bamford - a £6m recruit from Chelsea in January 2017, while Leeds director of football Victor Orta was heading up recruitment at The Riverside - has been regularly involved in their pre-season campaign.

United, however, are increasingly anxious to secure a proven striker having courted Vydra and Hernandez without success.

Vydra remains in line for a departure from Derby before next month’s transfer deadline after the Pride Park club secured a deal for Peterborough United’s Jack Marriott and lined up a move for Ipswich Town’s Martyn Waghorn.