A move for Nadiem Amiri to join Leeds United in the Championship never materialised, but he could now be set for a Premier League switch instead.
After a drawn out transfer saga, Amiri U-turned on his decision to join Leeds. That came after Daniel Farke’s side agreed a £5 million deal for Amiri.
It was a blow, despite Georginio Rutter and Joel Piroe going on to form a strong front two for much of that campaign. The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder was out of favour at that time.
Fabrizio Romano first revealed Leeds’ interest in Amiri, which would see him leave Xabi Alonso’s then side to drop down from the Bundesliga to English football’s second tier.
Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty ImagesFormer Leeds target Nadiem Amiri targeted by Fulham and Crystal Palace
Amiri is a former teammate of Josuha Guilavogui at 1. FSV Mainz 05, which is where he has totally turned his fortunes around after leaving Leverkusen.
It was said Amiri would cost Leeds just £5.1 million at the time. Recent reports have stated Amiri could move to Aston Villa for £8.3 million this summer.
However, his form — including a full recall to the German national team set up — means he could be worth even more than that in the summer transfer window to Mainz.
He signed a two-and-a-half year deal with the side in January 2024, meaning he is now entering the final 12 months of his contract at the MEWA Arena.
MORE LEEDS UNITED STORIES
In that time, he has helped them to secure a Europa Conference League place for the 2025/26 campaign. Amiri had made 47 appearances over the last 18 months, with nine goals and nine assists. Darren Witcoop of TEAMtalk has the latest on his future.
Now, the playmaker’s stock has skyrocketed, and Amiri is of interest to both Fulham and Crystal Palace. The Premier League duo have joined the race for his signature and could sign him for a fee of around €18 million (£15.1 million).
With Mainz now seemingly ready to sell, the seven-times capped Germany star could be set to seal a move to England at the second time of asking, but it will be in either London or Birmingham and not to Leeds.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty ImagesAmiri could have been Leeds’ Pablo Hernandez — Farke needs an attacking midfielder this summer
Simply put, Amiri could not envisage his future in Leeds. Instead, Leeds have hardly replaced Pablo Hernandez since his 2020 departure.
Rutter had creativity, but players like Sam Greenwood and Brenden Aaronson simply don’t have the technical level required in attack to replace that output.
Amiri could well have been that, but Leeds must now replace Hernandez this summer. That means a player of real quality who can be a match-winner, as well as someone who can glue the attack together.
Without it, and with the current options in attack, Leeds won’t stand a chance of survival. The West Yorkshire outfit missed an opportunity with Amiri, as he could be a Premier League starting quality player.
As it is, not many fans will be too pleased at how his career has gone after rejecting Leeds, with it being very much a ‘what could have been’ signing after his stellar 18 months.