Leeds United could be handed a transfer boost by an unlikely source in the New Year with Rayan Ait-Nouri potentially leaving Premier League rivals Wolves for Ligue 1 outfit Nice, according to FootMercato.
Heading into the January transfer window, it seems that Leeds and Nice have the same £14 million player sitting pretty on their list of transfer targets.
Both clubs have shown an interest in Empoli’s highly-rated Italy U21 left-back Fabiano Parisi. At least, that is according to agent Mario Giuffredi, speaking to Tuttomercatoweb.
“He’s (a player) of the highest standards. He can aspire to important goals. We had many clubs (showing an interest); from Atalanta to Torino to Fiorentina, Leeds and Nice,” Giuffredi explains.
“In agreement with Empoli, we decided to wait.”
Wolves could give Leeds United a boost in chase for Fabiano Parisi
Following an impressive start to the current Serie A season, Parisi surely won’t have to ‘wait’ much longer for a big-money move away from the Stadio Carlo Castellani. According to reports, the likes of Juventus, Napoli and Inter Milan have now joined the race.
At least, with Nice prioritising Wolves’ Ait-Nouri, one of Parisi’s many admirers could be bowing out of contention sooner rather than later. The ambitious Ligue 1 outfit, FootMercato say, have turned their attention from the Italian to the Frenchman; the report adding that Ait-Nouri is ‘ready’ to leave Molineux after falling out of favour.
The £18 million signing from Angers has started just seven of Wolves’ 15 Premier League games so far in 2022/23. Hugo Bueno has made a superb impact since displacing Ait-Nouri in the first XI, with relegation-threatened Wolves also to be in the market for another left-back.
Jesse Marsch eyeing new transfers at Elland Road
New head coach Julen Lopetegui is a big fan of Argentina’s World Cup winner Marcos Acuna. A potential £12 million deal for the Sevilla flyer, however, is now in doubt following a spate of injuries at the La Liga club.
Parisi, meanwhile, also heads into January with his future in the balance.
Per TMW, Empoli would prefer to retain his services until the summer. But Gli Azzurri may be tempted into a January sale, so long as his next club are willing to loan Parisi back to Empoli for the remainder of 2022/23.
“We’ve spoken a bit (about transfers),” Leeds boss Jesse Marsch admits. “We have targets. In order to achieve our goals, we want to continue to look at every position. And think about how we can move forward in the right way.
“We talked enough about the striker position in the summer. And I don’t think that that’s gone away. I think we’re active, we’ve been active.”
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