Leeds United are willing to pay £8million to sign Derby County striker Matej Vydra this summer, according to Sun journalist Alan Nixon.
The east Midlands club have slapped an £11million price tag on the prolific Czech Republic forward, according to the Mirror on their live transfer blog (Thursday, 9pm) as they look to cut their wage bill after missing out on promotion.
But transfer expert Nixon claimed on his personal Twitter account in an exchange with a Leeds fan that Vydra is rated at £8million by the Yorkshire giants as they look at ways of funding deals for both the Derby ace and another striker target, Bournemouth’s Lewis Grabban.
Vydra rated at 8 by Leeds. A few ways of doing Grabban. Need an out and out striker (via @reluctantnicko)https://t.co/GCBkyvL3Rw …
— LEEDSUNITED_MAD ?? (@LeedsUnited_MAD) June 26, 2018
OPINION
According to Nixon, Leeds are hot on the heels of not only Vydra, who topped the Championship goal charts with 21 from 40 matches last season, but also Grabban. The two strikers are as close as you can get for a proven goalscorer in the second-tier and it is easy to understand why the Yorkshire giants are in pursuit of them both. Vydra would cost a hefty fee, double what Leeds have spent on any player since their Premier League days, while Nixon claims there are a “few ways” of securing Grabban, who is out of contract at Bournemouth in a year’s time. Presumably, he means another loan spell for the 30-year-old, who spent the first half of last season at Sunderland before heading to Aston Villa in the winter window. Tellingly, the well-travelled front man scored goals regularly at both clubs and his combined haul of 20 goals from 34 matches for the campaign demonstrates his clinical finishing ability at that level. These are hugely exciting times for Leeds.