A player Leeds United are interested in signing this summer will be allowed to leave his current club.
The Whites are currently prioritising player exits at this stage of the window but that is not to say work isn’t currently going on behind-the-scenes on incomings.
Marc Roca is expected to become Leeds’ first departure of the summer, with progress having been made over a permanent deal with Real Betis earlier today.
Jack Harrison is also set to follow him out of the exit door for a second time with a return to Everton on loan now close to being agreed.
Those moves should hopefully open up leeway for Leeds to start bringing in some reinforcements, with the window now already almost a week old.
Sporting director shares update on Leeds target Karamoko Dembele
With Crysencio Summerville likely to be Leeds’ most high profile departure of the window, Daniel Farke is going to require some serious quality out wide when it comes to replacing him.
So far, links have been few and far between, though it has already been reported that Brenden Aaronson will add to Leeds’ attacking options next season, all be it more as a number 10.
However, one new winger Leeds have been linked with in recent weeks is Brest’s Karamoko Dembele, who shone on loan in League One at Blackpool last season.
Dembele is wanted by a host of clubs including Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday and Derby Country as a result of his fine season at Bloomfield Road, while Premier League sides are also keeping an eye on him.
And now according to the club’s sporting director Grégory Lorenzi, the ‘special‘ Dembele will definitely be allowed to leave the Ligue 1 side this summer, opening the door for interested parties to make their moves.
In an interview with L’Equipe, he said: “Taïryk Arconte, Karamoko Dembélé, Hianga’a Mbock and Josué Escartin will leave.”
Would Dembele be enough to replace Summerville?
Dembele is quite clearly a talented player and his numbers in League One last season speak for themselves.
However, on his own, he simply wouldn’t be enough to replace Summerville considering what he brought to Farke’s side in the 2023/24 campaign.
Summerville was often Leeds’ main man in attack and with 19 goals and nine assists, there would be too much pressure on Dembele to replace those numbers on his own.
Dembele feels like a very positive project signing, but one thing is for sure, Leeds will also need someone proven alongside him if he was to be signed.