Leeds United are reportedly interested in signing midfielder Ateef Konate during the summer transfer window after the 23-year-old was released by Nottingham Forest.
Buy Last Minute Tickets to the UEFA Champions League Final!
Konate was with the Premier League club since 2021 having joined from Le Havre and went on to feature in just three games for Forest. The midfielder made his debut on 11 August 2021, starting in an EFL Cup fixture against Bradford City, but failed to make it at the English side since.
The French star spent the second half of the 2022/23 campaign on loan with League One side Oxford United but the U’s didn’t want to sign the player on a permanent deal, therefore, Konate was at Nottingham Forest this season and played with their U21 squad.
According to AfricaFoot, Leeds have become interested in the attacking midfielder, who will be available for free following his release from Forest.
Although this seems like a risk-free transfer, it is still a risky move as they could be paying wages to and investing time in a player who doesn’t seem good enough to make it in the Championship.
Leeds may need to take risks this summer
Leeds are not in a great place heading into the 2024/25 campaign after failing to secure promotion to the Premier League. The Yorkshire club will have to sell some of their best players to balance the books and that means they may have to take risks when signing new stars.
Konate is definitely a risk and the Yorkshire club face competition from Sunderland and Derby in trying to sign the 23-year-old.
The Whites will want to be competitive again next season and players such as Konate will not help them achieve that.