End in sight for sensational Leeds transfer saga as midfield star arrives to sign ‘lucrative’ deal

Leeds United are finally closing in on the signing of Nadiem Amiri from Bayer Leverkusen after the reasons why the attacking midfielder has hesitated was revealed.

Amiri has provided Leeds fans with a mesmerising transfer saga to keep track of in recent days. They initially looked set to sign him, before he rejected them to hold out for a move to Marseille. The French side’s offer was never as good, though, which put the Amiri to Leeds transfer back on.

Confusion has followed, but the final chapter of the saga could finally be in sight. According to Bild, following up on similar information from Kicker, Amiri has already ‘made his way to Leeds on Monday’.

Negotiations have taken place for him to sign a ‘financially lucrative four-year contract’ at Elland Road. Leeds are expected to pay Bayer Leverkusen a transfer fee of €6m (just over £5m) to complete the deal.

Bild‘s report has shed more light on Amiri’s initial rejection of Leeds. There is now no mention of Marseille; rather, he was hesitant about the idea of spending more than one year in the second tier after a slow start to the season by the Whites.

Leeds, of course, lost their Premier League status at the end of last season. Daniel Farke is trying to put together a team capable of securing an immediate return to the top flight, but the Championship will be a competitive division as ever.

Amiri, though, will be asked to commit to Leeds for three seasons beyond the one that has recently got underway. Fortunately for Farke, it seems he has finally been won over.

Kicker has also given its take on Amiri’s change of heart. Another factor that dissuaded him at first is the fact that his wife is expecting to give birth in the next couple of weeks.

Amiri to earn more minutes with Leeds

On the sporting side of things, though, Amiri has acknowledged he has fallen down the pecking order at Bayer Leverkusen, especially after their addition of Nathan Tella from Southampton.

With his contract into its final year as well, a change of scenery makes sense for all parties. As Kicker warns, he might not be able to attract offers as good as the one from Leeds after a season on the fringes at Bayer Leverkusen.

There is also the prospect of Leeds increasing his salary if they win promotion back to the Premier League.

Amiri is a couple of months away from his 27th birthday, so should be enjoying the prime of his career. He might not have originally envisaged it being in the second tier, but Leeds have big plans that he now seems to have bought into.

Because of the positions he can play in – central, attacking or wide midfield – he could help Leeds fill the voids left by the departures of Tyler Adams, Marc Roca, Brenden Aaronson, Jack Harrison and others this summer.

Amiri’s provisional unveiling as a Leeds player represents part of a busy end to the transfer window in West Yorkshire. They are also aiming to sign Djed Spence from Tottenham, Ao Tanaka from Fortuna Dusseldorf, Joseph Paintsil from Genk and Glen Kamara from Rangers, while TEAMtalk has revealed their consideration of a swoop for Leicester City defender Luke Thomas.