Leeds United have reached a final agreement with Juventus for the transfer of Weston McKennie, with trusted reporter Fabrizio Romano seemingly confirming the imminent move and revealing the terms of the deal.
The Whites have acted swiftly and decisively so far this window, signing Maximilian Wober and Georginio Rutter. The latter arrived in a club-record fee from Hoffenheim and adds another option for Jesse Marsch to call upon in attack.
Austrian Wober, meanwhile, has already had a telling impact on the Leeds defence since arriving from Red Bull Salzburg early in the window.
However, Leeds also left open the possibility to strenghen their midfield if the right deal came around. And that need became a little bit more urgent with popular star Mateusz Klich bidding an emotional farewell to Elland Road.
As such, the Whites have honed in on the capture of USA star McKennie. His availability has been circulated to a number of Premier League sides, with Juventus looking to cash in. While a regular in Maximiliano Allegri’s line-up, the impending return to full fitness of Paul Pogba makes him up for grabs.
And Juve’s 15-point deduction for financial irregularities means they will almost certainly be without European football next season.
To that end, the departure of McKennie certainly makes a lot of sense from the Italians’ point of view.
Leeds, therefore, have been quick to try and strike a deal with Juventus over McKennie.
And with the player agreeing personal terms with Leeds, he was quickly sold on a move by compatriots Jesse Marsch and Tyler Adams.
Talks with Juve, though, have proved a little difficult for Leeds.
Their opening offer of around £24m with bonuses was quickly waved off by Juventus.
Leeds reach Weston McKennie agreement
However, with Juventus holding out for nearer the £30m mark, the two clubs have seemingly found a compromise.
Indeed, Saturday’s Transfer Gossip detailed the possibility of his move to Leeds being on an initial loan deal.
And now the two clubs have now reached agreement on the deal. Revealing the terms of the arrangement, Romano has given the move the ‘Here we Go’ seal of approval.
He claims Leeds will pay Juventus a £1.05m (€1.2m) loan fee to bring the 24-year-old to Elland Road for the rest of the season. That deal contains an option for Leeds to make the move permanent for £28.9m (€33m), plus add-ons, in the summer.
And with McKennie having already agreed terms, he is now just a medical away from securing the switch.
The player will now travel to West Yorkshire and if all goes to plan, will be presented as a Leeds player before Tuesday’s deadline.
Allegri confirms McKennie transfer
Confirming his transfer to Leeds is imminent, Juventus boss Allegri has also revealed McKennie will depart.
“McKennie will not be available tomorrow [Sunday] because he is at the centre of a negotiation. I think the club has already found an agreement with his new team. Therefore he won’t be there tomorrow,” Allegri stated.
“There will be no reinforcements on the market, if McKennie was to leave. We have Cuadrado, De Sciglio, Soulé, who can also play from outside. If necessary, we will be able to change the structure. The important thing is to recover everyone.”
Earlier, David Ornstein claimed Nottingham Forest had made a late play to hijack the deal.
However, with Leeds reaching agreement, he could now make his debut for the Whites in next Sunday’s match at the City Ground.