Leeds United are in hot pursuit of Vitoria Setubal defender Frederico Venancio after his impressive loan spell with Sheffield Wednesday last season, according to A Bola.
The Portuguese publication that the two Yorkshire rivals are set to battle it out for the 25-year-old’s signing from the top flight side in Portugal, and that the Owls are readying an £875,000 (€1million – source: XE) bid for his permanent capture after his temporary stay.
The 6’1″ (source: Transfermarkt) powerhouse proved himself in England’s second tier after a slow start to his career at Hillsborough, making his first Championship appearance in December before becoming a mainstay in the side, missing just two games in all of 2018.
Good move for Leeds?
The Whites need some reinforcements at the back after Matthew Pennington returned to Everton leaving just Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper as the senior options, and Venancio has proven his worth in the Championship.
Last summer saw Leeds take a risk on a number of foreign signings and many did not live up to expectation, so at least with the former Sheffield Wednesday man they know he can hit the ground running – even if it did take him a while to get up to speed.
At 25, he has his career ahead of him and were the Elland Road outfit able to snap him up, they would know they were getting his best years out of him.
This is Futbol rating: 7.5/10
Likely to happen?
Only if Leeds can hijack the Owls’ reported bid, which is said to be ready to be put on the table.
At £875,000 it is something of a steal considering the vastly inflated prices in the transfer window, and despite the Whites’ struggles last summer they should have little issue in convincing him to join up for what promises to be an exciting new chapter for the club.
For now though, Wednesday lead the way.
This is Futbol rating: 4/10