, Leeds United are scouting £19.5m Argentine but have other criteria first

Leeds United are scouting £19.5m Argentine but have other criteria first

Ever since the Argentinian publication, Doble Amarillo, said that Leeds United was interested in River Plate centre-back Lucas Martinez Quarta, there has been a transfer buzz around him. Leeds are needing a replacement for Ben White who will return to Brighton at the end of this season. In responding to a fan question in an Athletic Q&A, Phil Hay confirms this but does offer a little caveat.

24-year-old Quarta graduated into River Plate’s first-team set-up from their Under-20s at the start of July 2016. He was just 20 years old then, and now has four seasons of top-tier experience under his belt. Since his promotion, the Argentine, with Italian heritage, has gone on to make 95 appearances with River Plate (5 goals/3 assists). 64 of these (2 goals/1 assist) have been in Argentina’s Superliga competition. He has also gone on to make his international debut for Argentina, featuring in two friendly games against Chile and Mexico.

When news first broke from Doble Amarillo, they wrote that the young defender was “closely followed by Leeds of Marcelo Bielsa” and that the West Yorkshire club saw his signing as “a priority.

Daniel Apuy/Getty Images Sport

However, after committing to signing Helder Costa, albeit with staggered payments, and also said to be very much in the market for converting loans to permanents for Illan Meslier and Jack Harrison, a £19.5m outlay for Martinez Quarta might not be a tempting proposition for the Whites to consider.

On this front, when looking at the possibility that Quarta is in Leeds’ plans, The Athletic’s Phil Hay confirms this bt with a little caveat. Answering a question about Quarta and United’s interest, Hay stated:

They are scouting players in Argentina and he’s one of them but it sounds like Leeds are looking a little more closely at domestic players.

That caveat there, that warning right there should be enough to warn Leeds United fans that a priority for the club is to source players a little closer to home as they continue the search to replace Ben White after his stellar season at Elland Road.

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