Signing Pontus Jansson on a permanent deal from Torino, Leeds United ensured some stability at the back going into the coming season, but it seems they wanted a bit more than that.
According to Anderlecht’s director of football, Herman Van Holsbeeck, Thomas Christiansen’s side made an attempt to sign Bram Nuytinck from the Jupiler Pro League champions.
Speaking in a press conference, relayed by DH, where he discussed quite a few transfer matters, including the future of their star midfielder Leander Dendoncker, the 62-year-old revealed an offer from Leeds United for the 27-year-old centre-back.
He said: “I learnt that after a title, you need to let those who lose a bit of motivation go because they’ve been here a while. If you keep them, it can create a bad atmosphere in the dressing room.
“I received two offers for him [Nuytinck]: one from Udinese and one from Leeds United. In the end, we found an agreement with the Italians.”
Van Holsbeeck also explained his manager didn’t particularly want to see the Dutchman go, and it seems the player’s decision to leave is the sole reason behind this transfer.
Nuytinck completed his move to Udinese on Thursday for a reported fee of around €3m, which suggests Leeds United could move on to their next centre-back target in the coming days.
Nuytinck made 30 league appearances last season for Anderlecht, scoring one goal and picking up four yellow cards.
