Leeds United enter race for Valencia midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia

Leeds United have been named alongside Fulham, Hertha Berlin and Southampton in a list of teams showing interest in Valencia midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia.

Cristina Bea from MovistarFutbol reports that the powerhouse midfielder is available due to Valencia’s current financial state, as Leeds fans will be well aware of having already signed Rodrigo Moreno.

Kondogbia has a price tag stands at €15 million, an extremely good value option considering a deal for him would be cheaper than a deal for Todd Cantwell, a player who has been mentioned in the last week as The Whites initiated contact with Norwich for a potential transfer.

However, Leeds are already looking to get a deal done for Rennes winger Raphinha before Monday night’s deadline, and it would take a ton of man power to beat several teams to a transfer inside 24 hours or so.

Kondogbia is a strong central midfielder with fantastic experience under his belt at the age of 27. Before his move to Valencia in 2018, Kondogbia played for Inter Milan, Monaco and Sevilla after starting his career at Lens.

Cousin of Habib Habibou (remember him?), Kondogbia made 27 appearances in La Liga last season, scoring one and assisting one in a difficult season for Valencia as a whole. He enjoyed his most prolific season going forward in 17/18, scoring 4 and assisting 4 in La Liga from 31 appearances.

It’s not so much his direct goal contributions that he’s known for in Europe, it’s more so his dominant midfield performances as a physical player who can get the ball rolling for whatever team he plays in with an added touch of strong passing ability going back and forth.

Considering the circumstances, it seems to be a very difficult deal to get done before 11pm on Monday, but it’s worth the chase considering the immensely good value he has been made available for. Europe’s market proves to be far better value than English players who are less experienced and/or talented than their foreign counterparts.