Leeds United’s reported €30m bid for Martin Baturina may actually be an attempt to force Fiorentina to up their own bid.
That’s at least if the latest from Sportske Novosti is anything to by as they cover the situation today.
The newspaper reports that the Baturina could be subject of a big transfer on deadline day, with Fiorentina seriously interest in him and keen to take him to Italy.
They’ve already seen a €12m plus €3m offer ‘flatly rejected’ by Dinamo Zagreb and are planning on an increased bid. They’d need to get to €25m in order to convince Dinamo.
The big problem could be Leeds, with Sportske Novosti reporting that they have offered a little less than €30m for the player.
That bid was quickly accepted but Baturina refused the option. He does not believe a move to Elland Road would be the best for his development.
The Championship side don’t have much time to convince the player to change his stance before the end of the transfer window.
Whether they try to do so is up for debate. On the face of it, it’s hard to imagine they have actually offered €30m for him. Given their finances and how they’ve spent most of the summer selling rather than buying, it seems unlikely.
Instead, this feels more like Dinamo leaking that there’s a colossal offer from Leeds to force Fiorentina to up their bid and get the money they want.
