‘There were serious conversations’: Director says Leeds want his £25m talisman

Leeds United showed ‘very concrete’ interest in Stuttgart striker Nicolas Gonzalez, sporting director Sven Mislintat has told Transfermarkt.

When an exciting Argentina international told Tuttomercatoweb back in June that he wanted a fresh challenge after two years at the Mercedes Benz Arena, he surely thought that the offers would start flooding in.

After all, Gonzalez scored 15 times to fire Stuttgart back into the Bundesliga last season, justifying those comparisons with Albicelese legend Mario Kempes with his explosive burst of acceleration and clinical finishing.

Despite being linked with the likes of AC Milan and Atalanta at the start of the summer, not to mention a Leeds side coached by Argentine tactician Marcelo Bielsa, the trail has grown cold of late.

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“We had a lot of hot rumours at the beginning (of the transfer window),” said former Arsenal chief Mislintat. “(Leeds interest) was very concrete. There were serious conversations. 

“But it never presented itself in such a way that it would have been interesting for Nico or for us.”

Speaking to Kicker over the weekend, Mislintant suggested that Stuttgart would be unable to refuse any offers in the region of £25 million, before saying that such bids are unlikely to arrive during a period of unprecedented financial uncertainty.

So, with less than three weeks remaining until Leeds kick off their first Premier League campaign since 2003/04, Patrick Bamford’s position as Bielsa’s first-choice number nine remains unchallenged.

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