Leeds in ‘advanced talks’ to sell Marsch signing as defender greenlights his part in double exit

Leeds United are discussing the departure of Rasmus Kristensen after just one season, with the defender set to follow a teammate to a new destination.

Kristensen came to Leeds last summer from Red Bull Salzburg, reuniting with Jesse Marsch. However, it was a turbulent campaign at Elland Road that culminated in Marsch losing his job as head coach and, eventually, the club suffering relegation to the Championship.

As such, Leeds might have to offload several of their players this summer. TEAMtalk recently identified 10 Leeds players likely to attract interest after their relegation.

Now, Kristensen has also – somewhat out of the blue – ended up on the exit list at Leeds. According to Gianluca Di Marzio, the right-back has become a target for Roma.

The two clubs are in ‘advanced talks’, per the Sky Sport Italia guru. However, they have not yet reached an agreement.

When they do meet in the middle, it appears likely that Kristensen’s move would be a loan away from Leeds, where he remains under contract until 2027.

Leeds have already been in discussions with Roma about a new arrangement for Diego Llorente, another defender who traded West Yorkshire for the Eternal City on loan earlier this year.

Roma are aiming to keep Llorente for next season as well after he fared reasonably well for them when called upon and it has now emerged that he could reunite with Kristensen in the process.

Llorente and Kristensen actually only shared a pitch on nine occasions in the six months their paths crossed at Leeds.

The Giallorossi were actually linked with Kristensen before he made his move to Leeds – turning their noses up at Salzburg’s €15m request last summer and buying Zeki Celik from Lille for around half that – so their interest has been long-standing.

Kristensen gives green light to Leeds exit

And it is a mutual interest, since Di Marzio claims Kristensen has already ‘given his approval’ to the transfer. It would be his first experience of playing in Serie A, while he would also get to participate in the Europa League.

If Kristensen does leave, Leeds will still have Luke Ayling at right-back, while Cody Drameh is at a crossroads in his career after a loan spell with Luton Town.

Leeds’ various managers last season gave Kristensen 30 appearances across all competitions. The 25-year-old scored three Premier League goals from 26 games in the top flight. In actual fact, only five of his teammates scored more in the league, but that was perhaps indicative of the wider problems that led to their relegation.

And despite his fondness for the club, which became apparent when he arrived, another new challenge could be on the horizon for the Denmark international imminently after his spells with Midtjylland, Ajax, Salzburg and Leeds.

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