It has been a quiet January transfer window so far for Leeds United.
In truth, it was never meant to be a busy period for a team that has enjoyed a mostly positive start to life in the Premier League and spent almost £100 million in the summer transfer window.
Marcelo Bielsa's team have endured a tough start to 2021, losing their last three matches in all competitions, but the squad is in a healthy position.
Despite this, the rumour mill continues to churn, and we have updates on two potential targets plying their trade in Serie A.
Here is a round-up of the latest Leeds transfer rumours.
£22 million Serie A target
Leeds are reportedly ready to put €25 million (£22.2m) on the table to sign Erick Pulgar from Fiorentina this month.
Bielsa's desire for a central midfielder has been much discussed, with a series of options linked with moves to Elland Road in the summer.
And now Calciomercato via Sport Witness reports that the Whites and Sevilla are interested in Pulgar, with Leeds willing to offer €25 million to secure the Chilean services.
It had been previously reported that either a summer move or a six-month loan with an option to buy was more likely, but Leeds are now seemingly ready to step up their reported interest in the midfielder.
Such a move, however, seems unlikely during what is expected to be a quiet January for the Whites.
De Paul blow
Inter Milan have entered the race to sign Rodrigo De Paul and have now moved to the front of the queue to acquire the highly-rated Udinese midfielder, per reports in Italy.
Tuttosport via Sports Mole reports that Antonio Conte is eager to add De Paul to his squad, especially if Inter are able to shift Christian Eriksen off the wage bill.
Inter signed Eriksen from Spurs this time last year, but the Danish creator has hardly featured, making just four league starts this campaign.
Leeds were strongly linked with a move for De Paul in the summer and never solved their central midfield need. Reports suggested that they could return with another pursuit of the 27-year-old.
Why Gotts returned
Robbie Gotts returned to Leeds after his loan spell with Lincoln City because of his lack of first-team minutes, Lincoln boss Michael Appleton explained as reported by Lincolnshire Live.
Gotts had made just four league starts prior to Leeds cutting short his loan spell and sending him to Salford City, where he will hope to gain more regular playing time. And Appleton admitted that he accepts the decision.
"You don’t want to stop a player having the opportunity to go and further their career and education," said the Lincoln manager. "What I mean by that is he was clearly desperate for some game time.
"We understand that and we’ve got a good relationship with Leeds. He’s going to have the opportunity to get more game time with Salford. I’d like to think he enjoyed his time with us and learned a lot and got a reasonable amount of game time.
"Having spoken to Robbie a couple of times before it happened, I get the impression he’s been guaranteed more game time than what I can guarantee him here. That’s through no fault of his own, that’s through the other players in the squad doing ever so well and keeping him out of the side."
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