Leeds United are being linked with a move for rising teenage star Lovro Golic, with the club said to be keen to get a deal done. Daniel Farke is about to see his defensive options swelled by the arrival of Udinese centre-back Jaka Bijol, who underwent a medical at the club yesterday and is expected to be confirmed imminently as the second signing of the season following the signing of Lukas Nmecha.
While his centre back options will be addressed by Bijol's capture, Leeds are being tipped to add another defender in 19-year-old Slovenian Golic. Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano says the defender has made a decision to leave AS Roma on a free transfer this summer, with Leeds, Lecce and Hoffenheim reported as the clubs keen on landing the teenager.
Golic fits Leeds' previous transfer preference of being a young player with his best days ahead of him who can grow into the team, but that is not the sort of recruitment the Whites need this summer. The Slovenia under-21 international is yet to make a Serie A appearance and if arriving at Leeds would not expect to be ready for a Premier League bow, with the deal seemingly unlikely despite the reports.
While his availability as a free agent is a huge advantage to a club with a need to be careful with their spending as part of an overhaul of the squad for a return to the Premier League, adding to the squad with untested overseas players does not fit the current brief.
That said, the player has a number of admirers already at such a young age, including his former Roma manager Jose Mourinho, with Golic having previously told the story of his rise to the first team under the Portuguese boss when he was just 16-years-old.
Speaking about his first call-up, Golic said: "The team manager called me and told me that the next day I would have to train with Mourinho.
"At first I asked him if he had called the right player, I couldn't believe it. When I entered the field, Mourinho asked Dybala what he thought of me, he replied that I seemed a real wall. When Mourinho told him that I was 16 he was incredulous. Even Abraham couldn't believe I was so young."
Golic will be a name to keep an eye on, but with Bijol arriving and an onus on adding quality to a title-winning squad, this one should probably be marked down as unlikely at present.
