Leeds United’s pursuit of Real Sociedad defender Diego Llorente is edging closer to a conclusion after the Basque club confirmed a fee had been agreed with the Whites.
The Spain international, who was a part of his country’s most recent squad with Rodrigo, has his heart set on leaving the Basque club.
When it became clear Josko Gvardiol was leaning towards a switch to the Bundesliga and RB Leipzig over the weekend, Victor Orta acted.
The director of football set the wheels in motion on talks with 27-year-old Llorente, who was at the heart of the defence in Spain’s sixth-best team last term.
Sky Sports News first reported talks with Llorente were at an advanced stage on Tuesday morning, while Basque sources are suggesting a deal between £18m and £19m is all done with a medical in Madrid planned for tomorrow.
Sources at Elland Road were playing down the progress of talks up until Tuesday afternoon.
Sociedad have not made life too difficult for Orta or United because they themselves are keen to invest in a left-sided centre-back with the funds wantaway Llorente generates.
It remains to be seen how Marcelo Bielsa goes about integrating Llorente and then managing his game time with captain Liam Cooper and Germany international Robin Koch already in situ.
A switch to three at the back is reserved for opposition using two strikers, which remains a rarity in the Premier League.
