Leeds United managed to make it back to the Premier League after a 16-year absence with, in the end, relative ease. They had a 10-point gap to West Bromwich Albion in 2nd. Work needs to be done to strengthen the core of the side and Phil Hay of The Athletic puts forward one name the Whites have looked at – Alessandro Florenzi of Roma.
Florenzi, a 35-cap Italy international, has been at Roma since signing for their Under-19s in July 2011. The 29-year-old has 280 games under his belt at Roma, scoring 28 goals and providing 32 assists. It was whilst at the capital club that Florenzi picked up his 35 Italy caps, the last one coming in November last year when he was on the bench for a 9-1 pasting of Armenia in a Euro qualifier.
Hay’s article mentions that Florenzi is set to leave Roma ahead of their next Serie A campaign and this looks to be true, the right-back having spent a chunk of time out on loan in La Liga with Valencia during the second half of the season. He featured in 14 La Liga games for the Spanish side.
Leeds, as mentioned before, do need a certain level of restocking so that they remain competitive in the Premier League next season. The Whites, under Bielsa, are not seen to be wanting to make wholesale changes but The Athletic’s Hay does say that Florenzi is a player that the Whites have considered.
He writes that Leeds “have cast their eye” over the 29-year-old who can operate as a full-back and as a midfielder. This element of flexibility allows him to fit into the way that Marcelo Bielsa expects his players to be able to play in more than one position.
As it stands, there has been no formal offer and no contact other than what appears to be a cursory glance. However, sources close to him say that his preference is to remain in Italy and there are sides from Serie A who are interested.
