Leeds United transfer state of play as 'double money' move nears and decision time looms for duo

The Whites paid in the region of £4m to £5m for Kamara last summer, taking him from Rangers and staving off the interest from Rennes. But the French side returned to the scene this summer and after negotiations took the price to somewhere in the region of £8m, Leeds decided to do business. Though Kamara showed himself to be perfectly adept at gaining and retaining possession in his debut Championship season, Leeds and Daniel Farke wanted more from the midfield in terms of goal contributions and that was where Kamara and his fellow central operators fell short en route to a play-off final finish. Kamara ended the campaign with four assists from his 42 appearances and failed to hit the net. With the Finland international said to be excited by the prospect of playing in France, for a side offering a more lucrative deal, all parties came to the conclusion that an agreement should be found. Kamara has travelled to France to complete a medical and get the deal over the line and it is anticipated that it could be wrapped up as early as this evening.

Leeds are expected to strengthen in midfield before the end of the transfer window, having sold Archie Gray to Tottenham Hotspur for £40m, failed to come to terms with out-of-contract Jamie Shackleton and now cashed in on Kamara. They have already moved to add a more attacking profile with the season-long loan addition of Bournemouth's Joe Rothwell but even with Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev competing for the 6 role, the central midfield options are still a little light.

In terms of further incoming business, Leeds have seen their initial offers for right-back Jayden Bogle rejected by Sheffield United. The Blades are in the midst of a takeover which has had some impact on business at Bramall Lane, but Leeds remain keen on the 23-year-old attacking full-back and the situation appears far from over.

Leeds are due to welcome right-back Rasmus Kristensen back to Thorp Arch at the end of this week, alongside fellow EURO 2024 participant Max Wober. The due were given time off following their major tournament involvement with Denmark and Austria respectively. There is reported Bundesliga interest in Kristensen and noise in his home country has suggested an unlikely return to Midtjylland could be on the cards but Leeds say decisions on their future will be taken upon their return. Both Kristensen and Wober exercised their exit loan clauses last summer following relegation and there has been sufficient speculation on both players to hint that they are still open to plying their trade elsewhere.

Willy Gnonto also attempted to depart the club in the summer 2023 transfer window but Leeds stayed firm after rejecting a transfer request amid transfer interest from Everton and kept the Italian international for the duration of the season. The Toffees' admiration for Gnonto has not gone away and they appear keen to add him to their wide options, which already include Leeds loanee Jack Harrison. Leeds are aware of the interest in the 20-year-old but say nothing more has developed.

The Whites have consistently said they are not looking to sell players but have not ruled out further departures this summer, which suggests that key players like Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville could still have a price. Leeds anticipated movement on Summerville early on in the window and had extensively studied potential replacements in the wide positions, but despite interest from Brighton nothing concrete materialised and instead it was Gray who became the first big-money exit of the summer.