Leeds face tough competition in bid to sign Man City starlet

Leeds United’s pursuit of Manchester City winger Ian Poveda might have hit a snag, with Serie A side Torino reportedly also interested.

News emerged last week that Poveda is one of the Championship club’s top targets in their bid to bring in a new winger after Jack Clarke had been recalled by his parent club Tottenham Hotspur.

Marcelo Bielsa’s promotion pushers have looked a little light in depth since Clarke and Eddie Nketiah were recalled by their parent clubs, and have been actively looking at bringing replacements straight in over the January transfer window.

As Leeds’ interest first emerged, it had been reported that senior figures were confident of getting a permanent deal over the line, with his current contract with Man City only running until the summer.

But there have been a couple of updates since then, and it appears Leeds face competition.

Italian outlet Tuttosport report that he was in attendance at Torino’s 1-0 win over Bologna on the weekend, while Leeds Live reporter Beren Cross – who originally broke the story – also “understands Poveda and his father were in Italy over the weekend”.

Meanwhile, young goalkeeper Elia Caprile was spotted in the stands at Elland Road for Leeds’ 2-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

The Italian is expected to sign in the coming days, and could become Illan Meslier’s back-up in the event that first-choice Kiko Casilla gets suspended, with an FA investigation into alleged racial abuse ongoing.