Earlier this month, Bournemouth announced a permanent deal to sign Luis Sinisterra from Leeds United. Sinisterra had initially joined the Cherries on a season-long loan with the option to buy, but Andoni Iraola’s side were clearly impressed with what they saw from the Colombian and acted quickly to sign him long-term for a fee of £20 million. Leeds have now lost two players to the south coast outfit in the space of a season, following Tyler Adams’ move last summer, but they are pleased to have avoided losing the player they signed from Feyenoord.
Another Leeds player who left in 2023 was centre-back Diego Llorente, who joined Serie A club Roma. The key difference, however, was that Llorente made his move in January, agreeing to an initial 18-month contract, and there is thought to be a clause in the agreement requiring Roma to buy the Spaniard if certain conditions are met.
Llorente now closes in on the Leeds exit.
According to Il Romanista, Roma is “one step away” from signing Leeds’ Llorente on a permanent contract. The Italian club is determined to strengthen their defence for next season, and Llorente is regarded as a key player.
He will automatically join if he continues to play as he approaches the previously mentioned criteria, and there is a sense that “only the official confirmation” is required at this point. The move appears to be inevitable.
£18m Llorente may not be the last loanee to say goodbye.
Leeds paid around £18 million to sign Llorente from Real Sociedad in 2020, following their promotion to the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa. Despite three separate injuries, he played 15 top-flight games and helped the Whites finish ninth. The following year, he made 28 appearances in a successful survival bid, but he fell down the pecking order under Jesse Marsch in the first half of 2022/23 before leaving.
| Diego Llorente Roma stats (Serie A 2023/24) | Volume | Club rank |
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 21 | 6th |
| Starts | 20 | =4th |
| Minutes played | 1,585 | 6th |
| Minutes per match | 75 | 9th |
| % of team minutes played | 73.4 | 6th |
As shown in the table above, Llorente has been an important player for Roma this season as the Giallorossi strive to finish in the top four of Serie A and avenge their loss in last season’s Europa League final. In addition to playing in 21 of their 24 league games, he has started five of their six UEFA competition matches.
With Llorente set to follow Sinisterra out the door, it’s unclear which other loanees have played their final game for Championship promotion contenders Leeds. Robin Koch has already said goodbye to Daniel Farke’s side after agreeing pre-contract terms with Eintracht Frankfurt ahead of the expiry of his Whites deal this summer, while Jack Harrison could also leave.
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