This summer’s transfer window is going to be a big one for Leeds United whichever division The Whites find themselves in – with plenty of players already being linked with a move.
During the early noughties before relegation in 2004, the rumour mill was nowhere near as what it is these days. Leeds fans got a taste of what it is like when in the Premier League, between 2020 and 2023.
In that time, Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch’s side were linked with some astonishing names. Players that had played for the world’s best clubs – and ended up signing Spain and Germany internationals.
Bielsa has told the Leeds board following promotion that the squad needed an overhaul to keep them competitive in the top tier. Andrea Radrizzani refused and relegation came two years after ninth place.
Mariano Diaz was one of the big names linked with Leeds United
Leeds were after a striker following Patrick Bamford’s exploits and subsequent injuries and one player the club looked at was Mariano Diaz, while he was providing cover for Karim Benzema at giants Real Madrid.
Bielsa asked Leeds to do a deal for Diaz, who only started 18 of his 84 outings for Real Madrid – scoring 12 goals. He did however, net a total of 21 goals in 46 games during a season with French side Lyon.
But nothing materialised and in the summer of 2023, he eventually left Madrid on a free transfer to join Victor Orta’s Sevilla. Clearly, Orta was an admirer of Diaz but, after a year, he left Sevilla on a free transfer.
Mariano Diaz remains without a club since Sevilla exit
Despite playing for Real Madrid nearly 100 times and scoring more than 20 goals in one season at Lyon, Diaz is now a free agent and has been for almost an entire year. The striker is still only 31 years of age.
This summer will surely see Diaz find himself a new home with plenty of life, you would imagine, still left in the striker. A move to Leeds though, without the influence of Orta or the request of Bielsa, is dead.
The chances are Diaz will remain in Spanish football or perhaps, earn a move to a club competing in the MLS or the Middle East. But the longer he remains a free agent, the less chance of finding a new home.
Big-name striker that Marcelo Bielsa asked Leeds United to sign has now been a free agent for almost 12 months
