Over in Italy, something quite remarkable has just happened. And those at Leeds United might take great interest.
Leeds United have themselves just made history. They’ve achieved promotion to the Premier League in Daniel Farke’s second season, breaking a number of club records along the way.
The Whites scored an incredible 95 goals along the way with Joel Piroe winning the Golden Boot with 19 goals, showing how Leeds scored goals all across the pitch in 2024/25, not just through one or two players.
Farke is now looking for new players. Leeds United have several transfer targets with a focus on multiple positions; mainly in attack and in defence right now, with the centre-back position looking somewhat light.
Pascal Struijk’s injury record at Leeds United was again a cause for concern last season, leaving Ethan Ampadu to fill the void in the final weeks of the season.
Leeds United transfer target Jhon Lucumi makes history with Bologna
One centre-back who Leeds could bring in this summer is Jhon Lucumi at Bologna. Recent reports from TBR Football revealed how Leeds United are one of several Premier League teams to have made checks on the 26-year-old in recent weeks, with Lucumi available for £11million.
And as the Serie A season draws to an end, Lucumi has just made history with Bologna. On Wednesday night, Bologna beat AC Milan in the Coppa Italia final, winning the title for the first time in 51 years in what is a massive upset over in Italy.
Lucumi played the full 90 minutes, making his 42nd appearance of the season with Bologna having played in the Champions League this season, currently sitting 7th in the Serie A table.
Jhon Lucumi’s stats for Bologna in 24/25 vs Pascal Struijk
Lucumi and Struijk both operate in the left centre-back spot. And whilst Lucumi has no doubt had more defending to do this season than Struijk, given Leeds’ dominance in the Championship, Lucumi’s stats compared are very impressive.
In league games in 2024/25, Lucumi outperforms Struijk in several key areas of defence, including tackles-per-game and also balls recovered-per-game.
At £11million, signing Lucumi could be a shrewd bit of business for Leeds United who are ready to spend £100million this summer, but who also have to bolster several positions.
But with so many teams interested in the cup-winning centre-back, a deal for Lucumi won’t be easy to come by.
