Leeds United and Leicester City set to miss out on Juventus player | OneFootball

Championship pair Leeds United and Leicester City have been making checks on Juventus centre-back Koni De Winter, according to Dean Jones who revealed this to Give Me Sport.

The duo may need central defenders for different reasons during the summer transfer window.

In terms of Leeds, there are no guarantees that they will be able to tie Joe Rodon down to a permanent deal and if they can't, they will need a replacement for him.

There's also uncertainty regarding the futures of Liam Cooper and Charlie Cresswell, both of whom haven't won much game time during the 2023/24 campaign.

Even if just one of these players departs during the summer, De Winter may be a much-needed addition at Elland Road.

Leicester also have some decent centre-back options, but it remains to be seen whether Jannick Vestergaard will remain with the Foxes beyond the end of this campaign.

The Dane's contract expires at the end of this season and even though all parties seem to be open to an extension, it's unclear whether he will put pen to paper on fresh terms.

Harry Souttar's future is also uncertain - but that's because of the lack of game time he is getting and not his contract situation.

It isn't just the promotion-chasing duo that are keen on the player.

Clubs from the English top flight are also eyeing a move for him, including Wolves, but it seems as though the player's current loan side Genoa are the firm favourites to secure a permanent agreement for the 21-year-old.

That's according to Jones, who told Give Me Sport

"My information about this from checks with people in Italy is that he is expected to join Genoa permanently. As part of his move, there was a redemption obligation set at 23 appearances in Serie A, and he is currently at 22.

"Hence, I find it hard to imagine that there will be an opening for anything else to happen in that instance, but it’s an interesting rumour.

"I'm also told that Leicester, Leeds and West Ham have checked in on the situation."

Leeds United and Leicester City must move on to other targets

In terms of Leicester, they probably shouldn't be focusing all of their attention on signing a centre-back at the moment.

It would have been hard to imagine saying this earlier in the season, but there are no guarantees that Enzo Maresca will be at the King Power Stadium next term with promotion not secured.

If he does go, Souttar could come back into the mix and establish himself as an important first-teamer, potentially reducing the need for another central defender.

Leeds, however, will need to look at their centre-back department this summer with departures on the cards.

However, it looks as though De Winter will be heading to Italy permanently, so both Leeds and Leicester need to be looking at alternative targets.