Leeds United Keen On Top Talent At Club Former Whites Favourite Plays For | OneFootball

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Leeds United have been boosted in their hopes of signing a top talent from the same club that a favourite under Marcelo Bielsa is currently at.

Left-sided player Ezgjan Alioski joined Leeds from Swiss outfit Lugano in 2017 and remained with the Whites until 2021, when he left for Saudi Arabia to sign for Al-Ahli.

When he departed Elland Road he had made 170 appearances, even playing in the Premier League and putting in tireless work ethic under Bielsa.

He remained in the Middle East until this summer, at which point he returned to Switzerland to once again sign for Lugano.

Now Leeds are interested in one of his team-mates in the shape of Mattia Zanotti, a former Inter Milan youngster, who is a top young Italian talent.

Zanotti moved to Switzerland initially to play for St Gallen on loan, before Lugano snapped him up.

The defender, who has represented Italy at Under-21 level, is in demand this summer.

Bologna have held talks with Lugano about signing him, according to Italian journalist Lorenzo Lepore, and the price asked for is €12m.

Zanotti though is not keen on a backup role at Bologna.

Leeds and Wolfsburg are also interested, though he is not a priority for either side at present, and he ‘prefers abroad’ if he moves.

That suggests that the defender would like to continue his career away from Italy as his first choice.

If Leeds do firm up their interest then they could likely rely upon Alioski to put in a good word about life at Elland Road.

He played on a regular basis for Leeds under legendary former boss Bielsa and also helped the Whites to win promotion up to the Premier League.

Zanotti, 22, made 41 appearances across all competitions for Lugano last season, while this summer he was in action with Italy Under-21s at the European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia.