Leeds United officially completed their third signing of the summer transfer window on Tuesday when they unveiled Sebastiaan Bornauw as their new centre-back.
The Belgian giant has joined on a four-year contract on a permanent deal from Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg, following the arrivals of Jaka Bijol and Lukas Nmecha.
Bornauw played 15 times for Wolfsburg in the German top-flight last season and will provide competition to the likes of Bijol, Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu, and Pascal Struijk in the centre-back positions.
This means that Leeds have now brought in two new central defenders and one centre-forward, in Nmecha, but they are yet to add to Daniel Farke’s options in the middle of the park.
One central midfielder who will not be signing for the Championship champions, though, is Senegal international Habib Diarra, who has signed for Premier League rivals Sunderland.
Leeds reportedly made a bid of around £22m to sign the star from Strasbourg last month, but the Black Cats have now snapped him up for a club-record fee of £30m.
What Habib Diarra could have brought to Leeds
The 21-year-old midfielder could have been an interesting signing for the Whites as a young midfield talent who has shown promise in Ligue 1 with Strasbourg.
Diarra could have provided a decent threat at the top end of the pitch from a central midfield position after a return of four goals and five assists in 30 appearances in the French top-flight last season.
However, he is far from the finished article at the age of 21 and still has a lot to learn, as his defensive work in Ligue 1 with Strasbourg left quite a bit to be desired.
Whilst his contributions at the top end of the pitch were notable for such a young player in a major European league, Diarra’s all-round play in midfield was not at a particularly high level.
Progressive passes
4.44
Bottom 41%
Progressive carries
2.33
Top 27%
Successful take-ons
0.50
Bottom 29%
Tackles made
0.84
Bottom 4%
Interceptions
0.50
Bottom 15%
Blocks
0.84
Bottom 21%
As you can see in the table above, the Senegal international ranked within the bottom half of midfielders in Ligue 1 in a host of defensive metrics, as well as in-possession attributes.
So, whilst he may be a promising young player with the potential to improve, Diarra may not have been an instant star for Leeds in the Premier League because of his lack of defensive nous and physicality in the middle of the park.
Because of this, it may be a good thing that the Whites missed out on a deal for the £30m-rated midfielder, amid reported interest from the club in another midfield target who would be a better signing.
Leeds eyeing Championship midfielder
According to TEAMtalk, Leeds United are one of the teams interested in a swoop to sign Southampton central midfielder Mateus Fernandes this summer.
The report claims that the Saints, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, are preparing to lose several key first-team stars in the coming weeks, and the Portuguese ace is one of them.
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It states that former Sporting prospect is expected to be snapped up by another club before the end of the summer transfer window at the start of September, and that Leeds and Crystal Palace are both lining up moves to sign him.
Previous reports have claimed that the Championship side are looking for a fee of around £30m for the midfield star, but it remains to be seen if that has changed.
It is now down to Leeds to fight hard to win the race with Palace for his signature in the coming weeks, to ensure that they do not lose out to another Premier League rival like they did with Diarra.
Why Leeds should sign Mateus Fernandes
The Whites should be pushing to sign Fernandes from Southampton because he would arrive at Elland Road as an even better signing than Diarra would have been.
At the age of 20, the Portuguese talent is even younger than the Senegalese ace and, therefore, has a similar potential to grow and develop over the years to come, which would make him an ideal long-term signing.
However, Fernandes has the quality to make an even bigger impact than Diarra in the short-term, based on his performances for the Saints last season.
Despite Southampton’s relegation from the Premier League, the 20-year-old starlet caught the eye with some impressive displays in the middle of the park, scoring two goals and providing four assists.
The £30m-rated star, who also scored against Cardiff in the League Cup, offered more to his team than just goal contributions, though, as he is an all-action and dynamic midfielder.
Appearances
36
30
Goals
2
4
Assists
4
5
Successful dribbles per game
1.4
0.4
Tackles + interceptions per game
3.3
1.1
Blocks per game
0.6
0.2
Ground duel success rate
53%
49%
Aerial duel success rate
63%
43%
As you can see in the table above, the Southampton ace has far more to his game than Diarra does as a central midfield option, due to his defensive and offensive qualities.
Fernandes, who was once hailed for his “exceptional” passing quality by analyst Ben Mattinson, may not have produced as many goals and assists as the former Strasbourg star, but he offered significantly more to his team defensively.
As aforementioned, Diarra may have been a liability defensively for Leeds due to his lack of physicality in Ligue 1, but that would not be the case for the Saints midfielder, who has been there and done it in the Premier League.
Fernandes has shown that he can handle the physicality of English football, to be a standout in a poor Southampton team, and that means that the Leeds target could hit the ground running at Elland Road if they sign him, which may not have been the case for Diarra due to his lack of experience in England.
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Therefore, Leeds should swoop to sign the relegated midfielder after missing out on Diarra because he has the qualities, potential, and experience to be an even better signing than the club-record Sunderland ace.