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Report: Leeds chief keeping an eye on overseas club; he’s raided them already this summer

Andrea Radrizzani koch leeds
Andrea Radrizzani Chairman of Leeds United prior to the Sky Bet Championship match between Leeds United and Brentford at Elland Road on August 21, ...
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Andrea Radrizzani koch leeds
Andrea Radrizzani Chairman of Leeds United prior to the Sky Bet Championship match between Leeds United and Brentford at Elland Road on August 21, 2019 in Leeds, England. (George Wood/Getty Images)

The Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani may be interested in buying Valencia CF, according to The Times.

The newspaper’s Spanish sources say that Radrizzani’s Aser Group is ‘keeping an eye’ on developments at the Liga outfit.

It is claimed that the Valencia owner, Peter Lim, is under pressure to sell from the club’s fans, who are unhappy with his decision to cash in on several key players – including the now Leeds striker, Rodrigo Moreno – this summer.

And Radrizzani, The Times adds, knows Lim well.

It is also noted how the man who acquired Leeds from his fellow Italian, Massimo Cellino, in 2017, has made no secret of his desire to make the club ‘the pinnacle of a group of European teams’.

And he is said to be looking for clubs to buy in ‘the leading European footballing countries, possibly using investment from other financial institutions, including sovereign wealth funds’.

“We have ambitions to build a group of clubs that can have synergies with Leeds United in the Premier League and Leeds could become the highest point of the iceberg,” Radrizzani is quoted as having told a conference last month.

“The model I see is more focused on Europe (than Manchester City’s global network), looking more at Spain, Portugal, France and Italy.”

8 May 2001:  Valencia celebrates the third goal scored by Gaizka Mendieta during the match between Valencia and Leeds United in the UEFA Champions League semi-final, second leg at Mestalla, Camp Del Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Digital Image. Mandatory Credit: Laurence Griffiths/ALLSPORT
8 May 2001: Valencia celebrates the third goal scored by Gaizka Mendieta during the match between Valencia and Leeds United in the UEFA Champions League semi-final, second leg at Mestalla, Camp Del Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Digital Image. Mandatory Credit: Laurence Griffiths/ALLSPORT

Leeds were beaten by Valencia in the 2001 Champions League semi-finals, the peak of the club’s rise before their swift decline to League One via the Championship.