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Leeds make approach for "all-action" £13m star, he could be even better than Diarra - opinion

Leeds United are already making significant moves in the transfer market as the brand-new Premier League season kicking off in August edges ever closer.

It's less than two months now until the Whites get their daunting top-flight season underway with a Monday night affair against David Moyes' Everton, with both Lukas Nmecha and Jaka Bijol - who have joined from Wolfsburg and Udinese respectively - desperate to be in Daniel Farke's starting lineup when the Toffees come to Elland Road.

They're unlikely to be the only fresh signings competing for a starting spot, however, with a new central midfielder clearly a priority based on the latest rumours filtering out of West Yorkshire.

Leeds make approach for £13m star

As per a report from Foot en France, Leeds have now made an approach to land Stade Brestois star Madhi Camara this summer, as their ongoing pursuit of a central midfielder drags on.

Indeed, it had previously been reported that the Whites were also chasing after another midfield ace from Ligue 1 in the form of Habib Diarra, with an alleged £24m bid even being made.

mahdi-camara-stade-brest

Now, however, their attention could shift towards attempting to land Camara instead, with fellow promoted outfit Sunderland also keen on snapping up the 26-year-old at Farke and Co.'s expense.

With the report ending on the fact that Leeds might be able to win the Brest number 45 for around the £13m mark, securing Camara's signature might well be deemed as an even better purchase to make than solely going after the more expensive Senegal international, before you consider delving deeper into their comparative statistics.

Why Camara would be a better signing than Diarra

With Joe Rothwell heading back to AFC Bournemouth this summer, Leeds do look slightly depleted in the middle of the park, which is where Camara might come to the rescue.

After all, the 26-year-old will feel he's earned his stripes enough in the top French division now to be a success story in the Premier League, with 182 appearances under his belt in Ligue 1 for both Brest and Saint-Etienne. On the contrary, Diarra has just 94 clashes next to his name.

Mahdi-Camara

In addition to his wealth of top-flight experience in France, Camara also has the boost of amassing ten Champions League clashes on the books of Éric Roy's men, with a goal even coming the 5-foot-10 ace's way in the illustrious competition this season when facing off against RB Salzburg.

Farke would surely love the "all-action" nature of Camara - as he was once labelled by football analyst Ben Mattinson - if he were to arrive on English shores shortly, with his ability to pick up 26 goal contributions in total for Brest, which beats out Diarra's own Strasbourg total by five, backed up by a second side to his wide-ranging game that can also offer up plenty of grit and determination when needed.

Camara's FBref numbers over the last year vs Diarra's

Stat - per 90 mins

Total shots

Shot-creating actions

Attempted passes

Pass completion %

Successful take-ons

Tackles

Interceptions

Blocks

Stats by FBref

Away from trumping his 21-year-old counterpart in terms of shots averaged and shot-creating actions managed over the last year, the table above also shows off that attritional side to Camara's game that might well have caught Farke's eye, with more tackles, interceptions, and blocks also won in favour of the £13m midfielder.

Hailed further by Mattinson as possessing a "nice all-round midfielder profile", this might well be a smart signing for Leeds to make if a battle against the drop is on the menu, away from gambling on Diarra to come good at a far steeper price tag.

Mahdi-Camara-1

The Whites have shown they're ready to splash the cash, having forked out £15m on Bijol's services, with Camara perhaps the next notable pick-up from Europe that can help Leeds stave off relegation.

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