Leeds United
Championship
Leeds Utd swat AC Milan aside to bring superb Barcelona coup within their grasp
A Barcelona star will leave on June 30 and their major ‘faux pas’ will be to the benefit of Leeds Utd who are primed to beat AC Milan to the coup, per a report.
Reports out of Spain last month claimed Leeds had all but agreed a four-year deal with Barcelona sensation, Ilias Akhomach.
The 18-year-old plays primarily on the right wing and is heralded as one of the hottest properties in Barcelona’s fabled La Masia youth academy.
News on Akhomach’s situation subsequently went quiet, though has come back to the fore on Thursday.
Spanish outlet Sport provide the latest on the teen phenom and it makes great reading for Leeds Utd fans.
Firstly, Sport categorically state Akhomach ‘will change scenery on June 30’. That’s when his current contract in Catalonia expires and much to the club’s chagrin, a new deal hasn’t been forged.
Explaining why, the report adds the terms Barcelona put forward are ‘well below’ those Akhomach is receiving from England and Italy.
The two clubs chasing the winger are Leeds and AC Milan, but Sport note it’s the Whites who are ‘at the forefront’.
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.
However, Barcelona are attempting to at least recoup some benefits from Akhomach’s impending exit.
Sport add Barcelona are 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. A sell-on clause is also another avenue they’re exploring.
LeedsLive add Sevilla into the mix as a club who could potentially scupper Leeds’ hopes. However, all outlets concur the west Yorkshire side are on pole position at present.
Akhomach has already featured three times for Barcelona’s first team, with each appearance coming in the 2021-22 campaign.