LEEDS are making Marseille centre-half Leonardo Balerdi one of their top targets for the Premier League.
Whites scouts went to France to check out the Argentina ace, 26, and an offer is being prepared.
Balerdi is a summer target for Leeds United as they return to the Premier League[/caption]
Balerdi was at Borussia Dortmund then went to Marseille in 2021 and has been a regular starter since.
The French giants will be looking for around £20 million for Balerdi but he could fancy a move to the Premier League at this stage of his career.
This season Balerdi has an average pass completion of 94% and is the captain of third-placed Marseille.
He moved from Boca Juniors to Borussia Dortmund in 2019, before switching to Marseille in 2021.
Balerdi holds both Argentine and Italian nationality but chose to play for Argentina, where he was born.
He currently has six caps for the World champions and has attracted transfer interest from Roma.
More football transfer goss
THOMAS FRANK wants to splash out on Leicester’s £25 million-rated keeper Mads Hermansen.
The Brentford boss is keen on a move for his fellow Dane, 24, who has been a standout during the Foxes’ disastrous season.
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Dutchman Mark Flekken, 31, is the Bees’ current No1 but Hermansen could boost Frank’s side.
Hermansen has been linked with Champions League clubs but the Bees’ dressing room has a strong Danish feel with internationals Christian Norgaard, Mathias Jensen and Mikkel Damsgaard already there.
Hermansen could move to Brentford from relegated Leicester[/caption]
JOHN COLEMAN looks set for a surprise dugout return with Irish side Waterford.
Coleman, 62, has been out of work since leaving League Two Gillingham in March and would jump at the chance of taking charge.
The veteran boss is no stranger to working in Ireland – he managed Sligo Rovers in 2014 – but is best known for his two spells at Accrington, where he took charge of more than 1,000 games.
DANIEL BACHMANN’S Watford future is in doubt.
The Austrian keeper, 30, last played for the Hornets on January 4 after he was ruled out with an ankle ligament injury and returned to the bench at the end of March.
Egil Selvik has filled in between the sticks.
And Watford would sell Bachmann, who joined them in the summer of 2017, even though he has three years left on his deal.