Caleb Ekuban’s agent has confirmed that the striker will leave Leeds United and join Trabzonspor on a permanent basis in the summer.
The 25-year-old is nearing the end of a season-long loan with the Turkish club, earning 30 appearances in all competitions and scoring eight goals since joining them last year.
Turkish news outlet Taka Gazete reported in December that Trabzonspor have the option to buy Ekuban from Leeds for fee worth £900,000.
And now, the forward’s agent Graziano Battistini has now confirmed that a deal for his client to join Trabzonspor is all but agreed, with him set to join the Europa League chasers in the summer.
“He is doing very well at Trabzonspor, he has a great chance of being able to play the African Cup, he has an important potential and he is demonstrating it,” said Battistini when asked about Ekuban by TuttoMercatoWeb.
“Trabzonspor will buy him from Leeds, [he] is a footballer ready for big stages. His moment is coming.”
OPINION
It is a bit of a shock for Trabzonspor to want to buy Ekuban because he has hardly pulled up trees since joining them on loan from Leeds last year. However the Yorkshire giants will no doubt be delighted with this news because Ekuban was a bit of a flop for them, and to cash in on him without any effort in the upcoming summer will save a lot of time. Ekuban has only started 11 league matches for Trabzonspor so they must see some potential in the 25-year-old to be worth the £900,000 fee that might be paying to sign him permanently. That’s almost £1million added to Marcelo Bielsa’s budget for the summer though and no matter what division the Whites are playing in next term, every penny is likely to count. It’s very exciting to think what Leeds could do in the transfer market in the summer if they are promoted to the Premier League.