Leeds United are close to signing Espanyol youngster Mateo Joseph Fernandez and already have a ‘full agreement’ in place with the 17-year-old, who turns 18 later this month.
That’s according to journalist Diego Balbontin, who says there is no agreement between the two clubs at this moment in time.
According to his information, the young striker has a €1.5m release clause in his current contract with the club, which is set to expire in June next year.
Leeds are yet to offer to match that figure, though and have instead offered €500,000 for the player, a fee Espanyol consider as ‘insufficient’.
Whether Leeds will up their offer isn’t mentioned, but there is a chance that the player could just wait and leave on a free as he will be able to negotiate with clubs in Europe come January.
It’s not the first time that there has been interest in the youngster as Barcelona ‘tried to sign’ him in the summer, according to Voz Perica, but that move was blocked due to the financial demands of Espanyol.
That made it ‘impossible’ for him to leave, but now Leeds are at the forefront and could get him on a free if the Spanish side don’t find an agreement.
