Leeds United have recently been linked with a move for Brighton’s Brazilian centre-back Igor Julio, who has a number of suitors in this summer’s transfer window.
Leeds United have started this summer’s transfer window with an overhaul of the centre-back position, with Daniel Farke having welcomed two new ones to his ranks ahead of next season.
The first to sign was Jaka Bijol, before on Tuesday Leeds United announced the signing of Sebastiaan Bornauw, with the club’s summer signings now up to three with the free signing of Lukas Nmecha too.
What comes next at Elland Road remains to be seen. Another new centre-back signing this summer could be likely, especially with Pascal Struijk facing an uncertain future at Leeds United, and the next centre-back signing could be Igor Julio.
Recent reports revealed how Leeds United are interested in Igor, whilst Premier League rivals Wolves and Crystal Palace are also understood to be keeping tabs on the 27-year-old. But neither side looks set to win this race.
Brighton's Igor in action against Tottenham during 2024-25.
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Igor Julio picks his next club amid transfer interest from Leeds United
A report from Spanish outlet AS claims that Igor is set to leave Brighton and head over there this summer, having handpicked Real Sociedad as his next club. It’s even reported that the player has an agreement in place with Sociedad who have also reached an agreement with Brighton over the move.
But AS add that the move is not yet finalised and so there may be a glimmer of hope that Leeds United can still pull off this deal; though whether or not Farke remains interested in Igor after completing the signing of Bornauw remains to be seen.
Either way, Igor is keen to move to Sociedad and a move is expected to reach a conclusion in the coming days, so there may not even be time left for Leeds United to hijack the deal.
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It’s clear what position Leeds United will bolster next
With two new centre-backs in, and a new striker, it now seems like Farke will turn his attention to the midfield.
Leeds United have been linked with several midfielders already this summer, and it’s a position that is very thin on the ground, particularly following Joe Rothwell’s return to Bournemouth: per reports Rothwell is now set to join Rangers on a permanent deal.
Elsewhere, Leeds United have missed out on Habib Diarra who’s completed a move to Sunderland, and he looked like Farke’s no.1 midfield target and so expect Leeds to quickly move towards other names for that position.
There’s also the goalkeeper position that desperately needs to be sorted out this summer, with Illan Meslier linked with a move to Fenerbahce. The Frenchman looks nailed on to leave anyway this summer, whether that’s to Turkey or somewhere else.