Leeds United’s hopes of bringing a player to the club in the final days of the transfer window might be boosted by Liverpool’s movements.
After reportedly learning that they will likely to wait until the summer for progress in a move for Brenden Aaronson, the Whites were said to have turned their attention towards a loan deal for Takumi Minamino on Thursday evening.
Their approach for the 27-year-old was rejected by Liverpool as they are already without Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah who are both at the African Cup of Nations.
However, an interesting transfer development might lead to them changing to their stance.
According to David Ornstien, the Reds are ‘on course’ to sign Porto forward Luis Diaz which will bolster their attacking options.
That leaves both Minamino and Divock Origi facing limited game time for the rest of the season and Liverpool are considering the possibility of allowing them to leave on a permanent basis.
The Athletic have reported that £20m is likely to be enough to secure the services of the Japanese midfielder, the same amount Leeds were said to be willing to pay for Aaronson.
However, with the Red Bull Salzburg youngster fitting Marcelo Bielsa’s style down the ground, it is hard to imagine they would prioritise a move for Minamino.
Both players operate in similar positions which makes it very unlikely that they would sign one of them now and then the other one as well in the summer.
The move for Minamino would have seen him join Leeds for the remainder of this season which would then probably pave the way for Aaronson to take his place permanently in July.
With Diaz’s arrival looking imminent, Liverpool are unlikely to be willing to agree a loan for any of the players currently at the club with a permanent sale much more favourable from their point of view.
Minamino’s current situation would make a potential deal even more complicated as he is currently on international duty with the Japan squad for their World Cup qualifiers.
It would mean Leeds would probably have to send a member of the medical team over to Asia in order to fulfil the medical.
The current COVID-19 rules in place in Japan would make that impossible as non-Japanese nationals are not currently permitted to enter the country, unless in exceptional circumstances.
It is unlikely that a situation such as this would be considered exceptional by the Japanese government which, given Japan’s next match is after Deadline Day, makes any negotiations a logistical nightmare.
Although, before those negotiations can even be considered a possibility, Liverpool must confirm their move for Diaz.
The discussions at Elland Road will only properly begin when that transfer is agreed.
