Leeds United: Fresh Diego Llorente, AS Roma transfer twist emerges | OneFootball

Diego Llorente's future remains up in the air, with reports in Italy suggesting AS Roma may pull the plug on a deal for the Leeds United defender this summer.

The Spaniard spent last season on loan with the Serie A giants and they were expected to make the deal permanent once the transfer window opens later this week.

Last month, Italian outlet Il Messaggero claimed that the centre-back has played enough games for the Giallorossi to trigger a clause that will make his loan move to the Stadio Olimpico permanent, while Il Tempo suggested the defender had made clear his desire to return to Roma.

Meanwhile, Corriere dello Sport reported last week that Leeds' failure to secure promotion to the Premier League could see Roma sign Llorente via a new loan deal or buy him for €3.5m (£3m) with a deferred payment, less than the previously reported €5m from earlier in the season.

Llorente, the report added, was high on the agenda of the topics discussed between Roma manager Daniele De Rossi, the club's sporting director Florent Ghisolfi and CEO Lina Souloukou at a meeting to set out plans for the upcoming transfer window.

Roma looking at Diego Llorente alternatives

But a fresh report from Corriere dello Sport has since suggested Roma may be having second thoughts over signing Llorente, who made 42 appearances in all competitions for the Serie A side last term.

The Italian outlet claims Roma are considering bringing Marash Kumbulla back from Sassuolo, where he spent the second half of last season on loan.

The 24-year-old was sidelined until late December with an ACL injury and started just three of his seven appearances for Sassuolo after joining them on loan in January.

Were he to return to the Stadio Olimpico, Kumbulla, who has been named in Albania's squad for the upcoming Euro 2024, would be Roma's fourth centre-back in the pecking order next season, behind Gianluca Mancini, Evan Ndicka, and Chris Smalling.

Leeds loan duo set for Elland Road return

That would leave no room for Llorente, who in that scenario would return to Elland Road alongside Rasmus Kristensen, who also spent last season on loan at Roma.

The Denmark international made 31 appearances for the Giallorossi last term but Football Insider reported last month that the Serie A club were not looking to sign the 26-year-old permanently this summer.

Football Insider added Kristensen's future may lie away from Elland Road and similar uncertainty surrounds Llorente, who joined Leeds for an estimated £18m fee from Real Sociedad in the summer of 2020.

The Spaniard has played 59 appearances in all competitions for the Whites and was a mainstay of their defence during the 2021-22 Premier League season under Marcelo Bielsa, making 28 appearances.

But Llorente lost his place in the starting XI after Jesse Marsch and joined Roma on loan in January of 2023, helping the Giallorrossi to reach the Europa League final four months later.

Leeds' relegation at the end of the season meant Llorente, who has won 10 caps for Spain, prolonged his sojourn in the Eternal City, but his spell at the Olimpico may have now run its course.

With the Whites looking to raise funds to comply with Profit and Sustainability Rules and a major squad overahul, the Spaniard could well be on the move again this summer.