Diego Llorente may only be a Leeds United player for a few more hours, with the club on the verge of negotiating a sale to Real Betis, according to Estadio Deportivo.
On July 1, the Spanish newspaper stated that Betis had already agreed on contractual terms with the defender and hoped to finalize a transfer deal with the Whites soon.
Betis bought Whites loanee Marc Roca permanently last week for £3.8 million and had planned to pay the same for Llorente [Diario del Sevilla, 27 June].
Leeds had requested £5.1 million, but an agreement worth £4.25 million was apparently made immediately, allowing Llorente to leave LS11 [Samuel Silva, 27 June].
Leeds United will continue to clear away their transfers this summer.
Of the various players expected to return to the club this summer after loan periods away last season, Llorente appeared to be the most likely to never wear the white shirt again [Rome News, 18 June].
While players like Roca and the returning Brenden Aaronson were fast to leave on loan this time last year, Llorente had already arrived in Rome, having moved to the Stadio Olimpico in January.
Unlike Rasmus Kristensen, who joined Llorente in the Italian capital in July, it appeared that the Spaniard would remain a Roma player after impressing for Daniele De Rossi’s team last season [Corriere dello Sport, 28 May].
However, Roma’s failure to pay a transfer fee has allowed Betis to sign Llorente alongside Roca while paying the Peacocks a price, alleviating their profit and sustainability concerns.
The Whites had intended to complete this trade before June 30th, but even though it has extended into July, Daniel Farke’s side will be delighted to move on a player who few expected to leave Elland Road again.
