Leeds United transfer latest as Whites make official moves for box-to-box midfielder and giant defender

The Whites want to add a number of players to Daniel Farke's squad to make it more Premier League ready and both Diarra and Bijol played top flight football in France and Italy respectively last season.

Diarra is a box-to-box midfielder and the YEP understands that reports of a £22m bid, first reported by French outfit L'Equipe, are accurate. The four-cap Senegal international made 30 league appearances for Strasbourg last season as they finished seventh in Ligue 1, qualifying for the Europa Conference League. Diarra scored four and set up five in the league. Whilst Leeds are obviously keen to bring him to England they currently rate a number of other midfield targets are more likely than the 21-year-old.

As for Bijol, the giant centre-back is vastly experienced for his age and a player the YEP understands Leeds are very hopeful of luring to the Premier League. Still just 26, he has 62 international caps for Slovenia and has a combined 200 appearances in the top flights of his home country, Russia and Italy. Currently playing at Udinese he started 34 Serie A games last season.

The addition of a centre-back would bolster Farke's current options, which include Pascal Struijk, Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu and Max Wober. Leeds chairman Paraag Marathe admitted at the end of their title-winning season that outgoings would be inevitable as well as incoming recruitment this summer and though Wober seems the most likely to depart of the current central defensive options, Struijk represents pure profit from a Profit and Sustainability point of view.

Playing style

Diarra has operated as a box-to-box central midfielder throughout his time with the Ligue 1 outfit, including last season as skipper under English coach Liam Rosenior.

The Senegal international also featured in a ball-progressing capacity for his country during last weekend's 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium and is expected to face England in a friendly on Tuesday evening.

Bijol, meanwhile, is an aggressive, domineering central defender who carries a set-piece threat and is known to progress the ball with his passing range. The Slovenian international is regarded one of Serie A and European football's most aerially dominant central defenders.