Leeds reportedly want two £27m stars loved by Juventus and Barcelona

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Leeds United are dining at the top table these days.

But their ambitions do not extend merely to competing on the pitch with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea.

With owner Andrea Radrizzani dusting off his contact book and making enquiries left, right and centre, Leeds are also battling some of the biggest clubs in the game in the boardroom too.

Even the presence of Marcelo Bielsa on the Elland Road touchline was not enough to entice Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Edinson Cavani to West Yorkshire however.

And, after taking his place in Serie A history with 36 goals in just 37 games for Lazio, Ciro Immobile has signed a contract for life at the Stadio Olimpico.

While Leeds will not be signing the hottest striker in Italian football this summer, or a pair of PSG legends, one of Serie A’s finest creators could soon be boarding a flight across Europe under the watchful eye of a famously obsessive fan base.

A Spanish international striker became Leeds’ new £27 million record signing over the weekend. But, if Goal is to be believed, another exciting forward named Rodrigo is heading to Leeds for an almost identical fee.

Yet if the prospect of signing a £27 million Argentina international is not enough to get the blood pumping, it is worth remembering that none other than Serie A champions Juventus were trying to sign De Paul not so long ago.

“For it to come out that Juve are watching is huge,” the former Valencia ace, who produced 14 goals and assists last season, told Libero.

“They are one of the world’s biggest teams.”

Luiz Felipe, the ball-playing Lazio centre-back who has also been linked with a mega-money move to Leeds via La Lazio Siamo Noi, struck a very similar tone when discussing those links with Barcelona earlier in the summer.

“It excites me because it means I’m doing a good job and the big clubs are watching,” Felipe told UOL.

While Barcelona and Juventus are coming to the end of a silver-coated era of almost unprecedented success, their stars ageing and their rivals smelling blood, Leeds are heading in the other direction at a rate of knots.

The pulling power of Bielsa, the ambition of Radrizzani and the dead-eyed opportunism of Victor Orta means Leeds should now be as feared off the pitch as they are on it.