An Italian website has reported that Leeds director Sandro Mencucci has been in Sicily to discuss buying Serie C team Palermo.
According to a report on MediaGol, translated by Sports Witness, talks have been held on behalf of Leeds United's majority owner Andrea Radrizzani about potentially taking over the troubled club.
The report goes on to say that Mencucci, who worked as a right-hand man for Radrizzani on a previous deal that never panned out, met with the chairman of Palermo, Dario Mirri, for early talks.
Radrizzani has been on the record about his interest in buying another club and over the summer even put in an offer for Salernitana, currently bottom of Serie A.
In June, Mencucci said of that particular offer: “Our proposal is serious. We do not want to do just one year and then relegate, but we want to give Salernitana stability in the top flight.”
The deal never happened, but Radrizzani clearly still has ambitions to create a network of clubs in Europe.
Speaking to SportsPro magazine last November, Radizzani said: “I do believe that a consolidated group in football, with multiple club ownership, can be a benefit in terms of synergies and creating value in the development of the players, and in some cases also on the commercial side.
“It’s something that I’m studying and exploring. I’m already in touch with some potential target clubs to acquire. I haven’t made any decisions yet.
"I’m still in an evaluation phase and I think that the model I have in mind is definitely different to what I see at the moment.
"It would be more focused on two or three countries in Europe where we can have close integration on the football side."
He repeated his vision at the World Football Summit that same month: “I have a vision to create a group of two or three clubs, but with a strong integration on the football side based in Europe, in other European leagues."
There has been no public statement from Leeds United about the rumoured interest in Palermo.
