Leeds United have made a fairly fast start to the summer transfer window in their bid to avoid an instant relegation from the Premier League next season.
The Whites secured their first addition last month when they confirmed that they had agreed a deal with free agent forward Lukas Nmecha, who has now officially joined from Wolfsburg upon the expiry of his contract with the Bundesliga outfit.
wolfsburg-lukas-nmecha-leeds-transfer
Daniel Farke has also added to his defensive ranks with the signing of Slovenia international Jaka Bijol on a permanent deal from Serie A side Udinese.
The 26-year-old colossus started 34 matches in the Serie A last season and arrives at Elland Road with experience of playing in a major European league.
Bijol does not look like he will be the only centre-back signing for the West Yorkshire outfit this summer, though, as the club are reportedly set to sign Sebastiaan Bornauw.
Leeds are closing in on a deal to bring the Belgian central defender to Elland Road from Wolfsburg for a reported fee of £5.13m to further bolster their options at the back.
What Sebastiaan Bornauw could bring to Leeds
The 26-year-old titan could provide Farke with a valuable and experienced back-up option at the heart of the defence, behind the likes of Bijol, Joe Rodon, and Pascal Struijk.
Bornauw has played 140 matches in the Bundesliga in his career, which shows that he has plenty of experience in a major European league, and has played 96 times for Wolfsburg in all competitions, including three games in the Champions League.
The imposing 6 foot 3 defender could provide a strong aerial presence for Leeds in both boxes. He won 62% of his aerial duels in the Bundesliga last season and has scored 11 goals in his career in the German top-flight.
This suggests that Bornauw could help Leeds to defend set-pieces as well as being a threat to score from them, which may be one of the reasons that they have decided to snap him up.
|Sebastiaan Bornauw's injury history|
|Season|Injuries|Games missed|
|---|
|24/25|4|18|
|23/24|1|2|
|21/22|1|2|
|20/21|1|13|
|19/20|1|2|
|18/19|3|19|
|16/17|1|12|
|Stats via Transfermarkt|
However, as you can see in the table above, the Belgian giant has also suffered from injury problems throughout his career in Germany, and missed 18 games last season.
This suggests that Farke may not be able to rely on him to be available week-in-week-out in the Premier League next season, which is further cause to believe that the centre-back could be a signing to improve the depth of the team, rather than as an immediate starter.
Sebastiaan Bornauw-1
Leeds are now reportedly eyeing up another signing from the Bundesliga, on top of Bornauw, who could be an even more exciting signing than the Belgian.
Leeds ready to swoop for Mainz star
According to the Print Edition of BILD (30/06/25), as relayed by LeedsUnitedNews, Leeds United are interested in a deal to sign Mainz defender Anthony Caci in the summer transfer window.
The report claims that both the Whites and fellow Premier League side Fulham are keen to snap the versatile 28-year-old star up in the coming weeks.
It states that Leeds are ahead of the Cottagers in the race to sign the French dynamo, though, because they have the ability to offer him regular first-team football.
The outlet adds that the Championship champions are ready to submit an offer to sign the Mainz ace in the coming days. He is said to be valued at around £8.5m by his current club.
amthony caci
It now remains to be seen, though, whether or not the club's opening offer for Caci will match that £8.5m valuation, or if they will have to enter further negotiations.
Why Anthony Caci would be an exciting signing for Leeds
Leeds would land a more exciting signing than Bornauw this summer if they manage to get a deal over the line for the versatile Bundesliga gem to bolster their squad.
Borussia Dortmund's Daniel Svensson in action with 1. FSV Mainz 05's Anthony Caci
Firstly, Caci has even more experience at the top level in Europe, with 107 appearances in Ligue 1 and 97 in the Bundesliga. This means that he has played in more of Europe's top five leagues and played more matches than the centre-back has, bringing even more experience to Elland Road.
The French star has also only missed two matches through injury since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, which suggests that he is far more likely to be available week-in-week-out in the Premier League next season.
daniel farke
In terms of his actual performances, Caci, who was once dubbed "fantastic" by the Athletic's Alex Barker, could also be an exciting signing because of the qualities he can provide.
The versatile star, who has mainly played as a left-back in his career but has also played as a right-back, is an attack-minded full-back who could get supporters off their seats with his direct play down the flank, having produced 23 assists for Strasbourg and Mainz combined.
24/25 Bundesliga Anthony Caci per 90 Percentile rank vs full-backs
xA 0.26 Top 14%
Assists 0.23 Top 14%
Chances created 1.66 Top 22%
Successful crosses 1.27 Top 29%
Cross accuracy 29% Top 30%
Successful dribbles 0.97 Top 16%
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, Caci caught the eye with his attacking contributions in the Bundesliga for Mainz last season, ranking highly among his positional peers as a creative threat.
He ended the campaign with 7.88 xA and seven assists to his name, which shows that the £8.5m-rated talent has the ability to consistently create high-quality chances for his teammates.
Leeds United's Junior Firpo in action with Stoke City's Million Manhoef
This means that he could be an exciting replacement for Junior Firpo, who delivered ten assists in the Championship, as a left-back who can create goals on a regular basis, after the former Leeds star left upon the expiry of his contract at Elland Road.
Caci is a right-footed player, who played as a right-sided full-back for Mainz at times as well, but he has played 65 times as a left-back in his career, with more appearances there than in any other position, which is why he could be the replacement for Firpo.
Chris-Wood-Leeds-1 Related
He'd be the next Chris Wood: Leeds pushing to sign £21m star after Bornauw
Leeds United are set to sign Sebastiaan Bornauw, and are also pushing to land a new striker.
Overall, a deal to bring the French dynamo to Elland Road this summer would be more exciting than the one to sign Bornauw, because of his experience, his injury history, and his exciting attacking attributes.