Following Pascal Struijk’s move to Brighton, it was clear that Leeds United had to replace the Dutchman in the heart of their defence ahead of next season.
It looks as though Tarik Muharemovic will be the left-footed defender United bring in to replace Struijk.
You would imagine, following the inevitable signing of Muharemovic, that would be the only major centre-back signing Leeds would make this summer.
However, according to the latest reports, this may not be the case.
Leeds United linked with £21.1m-rated Oumar Solet
According to reports from Tuttomercatoweb, Leeds are pushing to sign Oumar Solet.
Solet, 26, currently plays for Udinese in Serie A, with the Frenchman valued at around £21.1million.
The report suggests that Solet would be a signing Leeds make in addition to Muharemovic, not instead of the Bosnian.
The only other centre-back signing United should consider making this summer is a left-footed backup to Muharemovic.
Splashing over £20million on a right-sided centre-back when we already have Joe Rodon and Jaka Bijol seems ludicrous.
Especially when you consider that Farke could be reverting to a back four next season. Which would make gametime even harder to come by for centre-halves at the club.
He’s not the flashiest option, but Sebastiaan Bornauw proved last season he is capable of providing cover for that area. So, unless the Belgian leaves, I certainly wouldn’t be rushing to sign any more centre backs to play on that side.
Jaka Bijol or Joe Rodon could be left very unhappy next season
I already mentioned it earlier, but you would imagine that if we play a back four next season, only one of Rodon or Bijol will play. Muharemovic will likely nail down the left centre-back position.
This is another reason why, personally, I think we should persist with the back three. Rodon and Bijol were far too good last season for one of them to see their role be reduced to that of a backup player.
Last season, when we would switch to a back four in games, it would typically be Bijol who would be the player who was sacrificed.
When the Slovenian played last season, more often than not, he was fantastic. But he did find it hard to break into the team initially last season.
Bijol only started 21 Premier League games in his first campaign in England. I fear that if he’s in and out of the team again next season, he may look to move away.
If Bijol could find it hard to potentially get gametime next season, then I simply don’t understand why we would sign another centre back in that area.
Hopefully, only Italian outlets continue to report the links between Solet and us. As signing him would be a waste of money given the current makeup of our squad.
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