Leeds United seemingly won’t be signing Michael Folorunsho.
Leeds United have enjoyed a busy week, signing three players as Jack Harrison returned to the club on loan, before Ben White and Liam McCarron arrived.
More will be joining soon to bolster Marcelo Bielsa’s squad, but one player now unlikely to join is Virtus Francevilla midfielder Michael Folorunsho.
Leeds fans would be forgiven for having absolutely no idea who Folorunsho is, given that he’s been playing in the third tier of Italian football.
His name came up as a Leeds target recently though, as Tutto Calcio Puglia claimed that Andrea Radrizzani – the Leeds owner – was driving interest in the midfielder, who scored seven times last season.
That seemed somewhat bizarre, as Victor Orta is in charge of transfers at Leeds, not Radrizzani. Regardless, speculation about a move to Leeds has continued, only for a bizarre twist in the tale.
Tutto C now claim that Folorunsho will be heading to Serie C side Bari, but not without a strange transfer saga, because Champions League side Napoli have suddenly got involved in the deal.
It’s believed that Napoli will sign Folorunsho for €1million (£900,000), but immediately offload him to Bari, and will place a buy-back clause in the deal, meaning the 21-year-old may yet have a Napoli future.
Why is this so sneaky? Well, Napoli’s owner Aurelio De Laurentiis also owns Bari, even if his son Luigi has been doing most of the leg work. The move means Bari get a quality player they may have struggled to land, whilst Napoli don’t lose too much financially and effectively own the rights to Folorunsho’s future.
This bizarre transfer triangle – if true – means Leeds will miss out on the promising midfielder, and leave many scratching their heads. As with many strange deals over the years, it’s something that could only really happen in Italy.
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