According to The Times, Leeds United will have to pay £5.3m in compensation to Al-Ittihad if they want to secure the services of Nuno Espirito Santo as their new manager.
The Portuguese coach has been strongly linked with the vacant position at Elland Road following the departure of Jesse Marsch, but Leeds will have to spend big in order to get hold of him.
For context, this £5.3m would be more than the £3.8m they paid for Wilfried Gnonto in the summer.
Nuno is currently working in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad, where he has enjoyed a successful spell, leading the club to third in the table with two games in hand after a strong start to the season.
However, he has been heavily linked with a move back to the Premier League in recent weeks, and Leeds are thought to be keen on making him their new boss.
Leeds have been searching for a new manager since sacking Marsch last week, and a number of high-profile names have been linked with the job.
However, they have been met with several rejections, including from Feyenoord gaffer Arne Slot and West Brom boss Carlos Corberan.
The Portuguese coach has experience in the Premier League, having led Wolverhampton Wanderers to back-to-back seventh-place finishes and a Europa League quarter-final during his time at Molineux. He would then go on to become the manager of Tottenham, but that seemed like a bad fit from the get-go as he struggled to make any real headway in north London.
However, the cost of this deal could prove to be a major obstacle as Leeds target Nuno, and Leeds will have to weigh up whether they are willing to pay such a large sum to secure Nuno’s services, especially after his failure in north London.
Leeds have shown in recent years that they are not afraid to spend big to get what they want, spending heftily in the transfer market, and Nuno does have the ability to keep them up. However, there are questions around whether or not he’d be the right long-term manager for the Whites.
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