Leeds United close in on transfer deal for second Championship player amid Ismaila Sarr interest | OneFootball

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Football League World

·11 August 2022

Leeds United close in on transfer deal for second Championship player amid Ismaila Sarr interest

Article image:Leeds United close in on transfer deal for second Championship player amid Ismaila Sarr interest

Leeds United are closing in on a loan deal for Watford forward Joao Pedro, according to a report from TuttoMercatoWeb.

The 20-year-old may have only scored three goals in 28 league appearances for the Hornets last season – but he scored nine times during their 2020/21 Championship campaign and looked set to be a real asset for his current side during this term.


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Already scoring on their opening day against Sheffield United, he looked set to remain at Vicarage Road despite interest from elsewhere, with Benfica and Porto among teams reported to have been interested in striking an agreement for the Brazilian.

Quiz: Can you name which club Watford signed these 25 English players from?

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Article image:Leeds United close in on transfer deal for second Championship player amid Ismaila Sarr interest

Tom Cleverley?

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Liverpool have also been linked with the young attacker this summer – but nothing has come of these links so far and this has seemingly allowed the Whites to swoop in – with a deal also believed to be close to being struck for his teammate Ismaila Sarr.

It has been the latter and Emmanuel Dennis that have been the players most heavily linked with a move away from Vicarage Road this summer, with the latter’s future remaining uncertain at this stage.

And it looks as though Pedro may be heading out of the exit door before Dennis, with a loan deal close to being agreed according to TuttoMercatoWeb.

The Verdict:

This could be a very good deal for the long term for the Whites if they can turn it into a permanent agreement and at this stage, a loan deal seems more sensible with Sarr seemingly coming in.

Although it’s unclear how much the latter will cost at this stage, Football League World understands the Hornets have valued him at £25m, so to spend a considerable amount on Pedro too may be a risk.

However, you have to wonder what will benefit Rob Edwards’ side with this deal because they would surely have to receive a hefty loan fee if this deal is to make sense for them.

In fairness, getting his salary off the wage bill temporarily may enable the club to recruit others, but they would probably want to retain the 20-year-old unless a major offer came in for his services.

It’s also unclear whether he could be one of the Whites’ main scorers after failing to score that many last season, though he would have richly benefitted from last season with the step up to Premier League football.

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