Leeds United were desperate to sign a Premier League defender in January and even opened talks to lure him to Elland Road earlier this year, but now AC Milan are stepping up a move.
In January, Leeds were interested in signing a centre-back and were linked with a number of options as Pascal Struijk and Liam Cooper sat out injured. It was Ethan Ampadu that filled the void in their absence.
In hindsight, it was a move that worked because it saw Ilia Gruev come into midfield and the Bulgaria star shined. So much so, Borussia Dortmund are interested in a move to land former Bremen player Gruev.
But Leeds could have done with a centre-back and certainly, Everton’s Ben Godfrey would have been a fantastic addition. The 26-year-old was really struggling for game time during the first half of the season.
Daniel Farke’s side were keen on a move for the England star, which would have seen the old Norwich boss reunited with his old Carrow Road defender but Godfrey stayed and won his Everton place back.
Milan eye Ben Godfrey after Leeds tried to sign him in January
Indeed, Godfrey finally started his first Premier League match of the season on December 16 but after interest in January, the £25m addition started 12 of Everton’s 18 league games after the turn of the year.
Leeds opened talks to sign Godfrey on loan but David Ornstein reported that a move was not particularly close at any stage. Godfrey’s long-term future at Goodison Park though, remains largely in doubt.
The Sun claim that Milan are pushing to sign Godfrey this summer with his contract at Everton due to expire in the summer of 2025. It looks as if a deal can be done for £10m, a whole £15m less than his fee.
Any chance of Leeds reuniting a move for Godfrey?
If Leeds had got themselves into the Premier League, then perhaps. Everton must sell players and cannot afford to lose Godfrey for nothing next summer, even if selling him for £10m represents a £15m loss.
But Godfrey has shown over the last few months that he is easily of Premier League standard, whether that is at right-back or centre-back. Enough for Milan to chance their arm on him in Serie A and Europe.
Leeds have zero chance of striking a deal for Godfrey unless he remains at Everton until the final few days of the window and The Toffees are willing to do let him go on loan, which is incredibly unlikely.