Leeds surge ahead of Sunderland and Bournemouth in race to sign 6ft 4 monster

Leeds United have stepped up their efforts to improve their defensive options ahead of the 2026/27 season as Daniel Farke pushes to replace Pascal Struijk.

The Dutch defender left Leeds at the end of last month to join Brighton in a deal worth up to £18 million, a fee many supporters believe fell short of his true value.

However, Leeds had no option but to sell him once it became clear that he was not going to sign a new contract, and the club completed the sale ahead of July to balance their books.

Leeds have been working on several parallel defender deals, but one player has clearly emerged as the top target to replace Struijk at Elland Road this summer.

The Whites set to table their first bid

The Leeds recruitment team have been looking at several centre-backs over the last few months as there was uncertainty around Struijk’s future for a while.

Wolves’ Ladislav Krejci was considered a top option, but the club have pivoted towards securing another priority defensive target.

It emerged over the weekend that Leeds are working hard on a deal to sign Sassuolo centre-back Tarik Muharemovic in the ongoing transfer window.

The club held positive talks with his camp over the weekend and are prepared to match his wage demands ahead of a potential move this summer.

Sunderland and Bournemouth are also interested in Muharemovic, but according to Italian journalist Luca Cerchione, Leeds are ahead of those two clubs in the race to sign the centre-back.

The Whites are in pole position to take the defender to Elland Road, and are expected to make their first offer to Sassuolo today.

With personal terms unlikely to be a problem, Leeds will now shift their focus towards working out a fee with the Italian club.

Sassuolo are likely to demand somewhere around £35m before agreeing to sell the 23-year-old centre-back this summer.