Leeds United
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Leeds Utd secure incredible Barcelona coup with attacking signing to make heads roll
A Barcelona winger is heading to Elland Road with a report out of Spain revealing the Whites have successfully fended off AC Milan in an eye-catching transfer race.
The future of Barca winger Ilias Akhomach has been a hot topic of late. The 18-year-old broke through into Xavi’s first team last season, making three senior appearances along the way.
Akhomach – a left-footed right winger – has spent the bulk of the current campaign back in Barcelona’s youth ranks, though is now poised to leave Catalonia for good.
His current contract is due to expire at season’s end and Sport recently reported he’s certain to ‘change scenery’ over the summer.
Explaining why, it was revealed the terms Barcelona put forward for a contract extension were ‘well below’ those Akhomach is receiving from England and Italy.
AC Milan and Leeds Utd were the two primary contenders in the race to capitalise on Barca’s misstep.
Losing one of their brightest prospects to free agency is widely regarded as major ‘faux pas’ by many within Spain. As such, the director of Barca’s La Masia academy could pay for the blunder with his job, per Football Espana.
Now, a fresh report from Mundo Deportivo has put an Akhomach move to west Yorkshire on the cusp of completion.
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Akhomach to Leeds Utd being finalised
They state Akhomach ‘will leave’ the Camp Nou at the end of the season and Leeds Utd are ‘finishing negotiating’ a contract with Akhomach. Per the report, the terms will be finalised before the month of March is out.
AC Milan were understood to have been in contact with Akhomach and his representatives too, but it’s the Whites who will win the race.
Akhomach is deemed determined to make an immediate impact in a top division and will have a greater chance of breaking into the starting eleven at Leeds than Barcelona, for example.
The notion Leeds may well get relegated is acknowledged in the piece, though it’s suggested that won’t scupper a deal for Akhomach.
Sport claimed Barcelona were attempting to negotiate ‘training rights’, which is another way of saying being paid a compensation fee for a homegrown player signed while aged 21 or under.
The insertion of a sell-on clause is also another avenue they were reportedly exploring.
But regardless of how the final terms look, one thing is becoming increasingly clear – Akhomach will be in west Yorkshire next season.