Tarik Muharemovic Credit: Imago
Leeds United took a major step towards securing the second signing of the summer on Tuesday when they agreed a deal for Sassuolo defender Tarik Muharemovic.
The 23-year-old centre-back emerged as Leeds’ top defensive target to replace Pascal Struijk, who left Leeds for Brighton earlier in the transfer window.
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Leeds and Sassuolo have reached an agreement on a £34m deal, with the Whites now turning their attention to finalising personal terms with the defender before he travels to England to complete the transfer formalities.
Once the transfer is finalised, Leeds will turn their attention to other areas of the squad, and much work remains to be done to improve the team.
Leeds United plot major summer spending spree after Tarik Muharemovic
Tarik Muharemovic will replace Pascal Struijk in the team. However, Daniel Farke is pushing to bring in several more new players in a major squad overhaul.
According to the Daily Mail, Leeds are hoping to conclude a deal for Southampton midfielder Shea Charles in the coming days as part of their plans.
The Whites are looking to bring in one more centre-back after Muharemovic to further strengthen their defensive options ahead of the new season.
Leeds are also in the market for a left-back as the club believes they need proper cover for Gabriel Gudmundsson in the squad.
They have also prioritised signing a forward and another attacking midfielder to improve their goalscoring and creativity.
That’s five more players after Muharemovic, and there is more than a decent chance of Leeds signing two goalkeepers if Lucas Perri leaves this summer.
Leeds could end up having a major squad overhaul
The noises coming out of Leeds suggested they were expecting to sign upgrades for certain areas of the squad rather than a squad overhaul.
While they won’t match the 10 players they signed last summer, Leeds may end up signing nine new players if everything goes according to plan and they can stay within their budget.
Premier League clubs are spending big this summer, and the 49ers seem to have realised that they can’t afford to make just cosmetic changes to the squad.
The departure of Karl Darlow ensured that Leeds need to sign at least one more goalkeeper and maybe two, if Perri moves to Italy on loan.
And as things stand, there is a decent chance that Leeds will end up with a similar squad overhaul to last season to improve the overall level of the team.