Leeds would reportedly have to pay £70k-a-week to sign 33-year-old

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Leeds United linked Cristhian Stuani has a release clause in his contract which can be triggered after Girona failed to secure promotion to La Liga, although his £70,000-a-week wages may prove prohibitive, according to Cadena Ser.

With a German international arriving to replace Ben White and a Spanish number nine becoming the most expensive signing in their 100-year history, Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds have reinforced in two key areas ahead of their first Premier League season in over a decade.

Rodrigo Moreno and Patrick Bamford are now expected to go head-to-head for the centre-forward role, although Bielsa is no stranger to a tactical twist.

Do not be surprised if the new £27 million forward is deployed in a withdrawn number ten position – the Tyler Roberts role, if you will.

And that would leave room at Elland Road for one more classic centre-forward to battle with Bamford.

Victor Orta, Leeds’ director of football, brought Stuani to Middlesbrough five years ago and, according to 90Min in July, he would be tempted to repeat the trick in West Yorkshire.

The Uruguay international scored a stunning 31 goals in all competitions in 2019/20, but even that wasn’t enough to fire Girona to promotion.

According to La Grada, 33-year-old Stuani has a release clause in his contract that has come into effect since the play-off final defeat to Elche – a game in which the former Espanyol front man was sent off.

A £70,000-a-week salary may be a little too high, however, for a veteran striker who would most likely spend much of his time at Leeds warming the bench.

Cadena Ser suggests that those wages have La Liga outfit Levante backing away from an approach of their own.