Leeds United's sale of one of last season's loanees is progressing towards completion after a move that failed to work out.
Isaac Schmidt is one of those bidding farewell to Elland Road this summer, two years after arriving from FC St Gallen in his native Switzerland. The 26-year-old was signed as a full-back but failed to convince boss Daniel Farke of his ability to be relied upon in that position. His rare cameos in his debut season were mostly in an attacking position late in games. He made 12 substitute appearances amounting to 71 minutes in the Championship as Leeds won the title, with his only two starts coming in the FA Cup.
Last season Schmidt was sent out on loan to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen, for whom he made 19 league appearances, just six of them starts. The once-capped Swiss international showcased his versatility, playing on both sides of the defence and further forward on both flanks, but the loan was not to be made permanent.
Schmidt attracted lots of interest from clubs in his home country this summer, most notably from FC Basel and Young Boys and a move to the latter is now firmly in the works. The defender is due to make a permanent exit, following Illan Meslier and Karl Darlow out the door after their end-of-contract moves to Arsenal and Manchester United respectively.
One player who is not currently permitted to secure a move elsewhere is goalkeeper Lucas Perri. The Brazilian reported back for pre-season testing at Leeds Beckett this week and will be in training at Thorp Arch. As it stands Perri is Leeds' only senior goalkeeping option to have played top flight football last season. Though the situation could change with arrivals in that position later in the transfer window, Leeds are not currently in a position to let him go out on loan. There have been links in the Italian media to a move to Torino for the 28-year-old, who lost his place as first-choice keeper last season after a pair of high-profile mistakes that Farke criticised in the media.
On the incoming transfer front Leeds continue to play the waiting game over Southampton's Shea Charles and are interested in Sassuolo centre-back Tarik Muharemović. The Bosnian centre-back is seen as an ideal replacement for Pascal Struijk following his move to Brighton this summer and it could take a club record fee to bring the former Juventus man to Elland Road.
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