Leeds United have missed out to Sunderland in signing Habib Diarra from RC Strasbourg.

The deal always looked like a difficult one for Leeds United to complete given the figures it could go to and the messaging from the club early on in negotiations.

Despite other recent reports stating that Strasbourg would demand closer to £25 million for Diarra, it was always likely to be far more than that.

Sunderland then joined the race for Diarra and were set to offer far more than the quoted £25 million. Alan Nixon claimed it could be closer to £35 million to land Liam Rosenior’s captain.

Noah Sadiki in action for Union Saint-Gilloise.Photo by BRUNO FAHY/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty ImagesThe Habib Diarra situation for Leeds and alternative options they will eye up

The fee has since been confirmed by Fabrizio Romano, meaning Leeds will have to turn to other options instead after deciding against matching Sunderland’s high bid.

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Leeds could afford to buy the player in isolation but not when they are considering making numerous additions. They opted not to pull the trigger on a deal that became more expensive than they had hoped.

Leeds intend to spread the money sensibly this summer and will not be able to sign their top priority in each position, with everything needing to fit together by the end of the window.

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Therefore, cheaper alternatives to Diarra could allow for a higher spend in other areas of the team. Here are two players Leeds will be looking to sign instead of the Sunderland-bound central midfielder.

1) Noah Sadiki

A player who has appeared as someone who could follow the first arrivals of the summer is Union Saint-Gilloise midfielder Noah Sadiki, as talk emerged that Leeds made an £8.5 million bid for Sadiki.

Leeds fans are excited by the Sadiki rumours, although talk of the bid has since been played down but Sadiki could be a coup for Leeds.

It’s expected that Sadiki leaves Belgium amid interest from Leeds this summer. He is someone the club are seriously interested in and that they could make a move for in the coming weeks instead of Diarra.

He will cost a fraction of the price to sign, even though the 20-year-old has never played above the Belgian top flight and there are some concerns surrounding that fact.

2) Sean Longstaff

Newcastle United’s Sean Longstaff is on the radar as well. Homegrown, Longstaff is a good profile for Leeds to consider and also far cheaper as he is in the final year of his deal with the Magpies.

Longstaff was first touted as a Leeds target over a year ago. Now Leeds are back in the Premier League, Longstaff has once again emerged as a possible signing.

A £10 million Longstaff price tag has been mooted and, should Leeds sign him, they will be getting a player Sandro Tonali believes is very underrated.

Eddie Howe has opened the door for Longstaff to leave Newcastle this summer and more recent talk has seen a sensible rationale for Leeds signing Longstaff emerge. 

Mahdi Camara of Stade BrestoisPhoto by Jasmin Walter/Getty ImagesWhat other midfielders are Leeds looking at instead of Diarra?

Leeds are in the race to sign Douglas Luiz from Juventus, and it is also understood that Juventus are ready to take a financial hit on Luiz this summer as well.

However, other names have been linked in the media as well. The latest is that of 26-year-old Stade Brestois midfielder Mahdi Camara being on the 49ers’ radar for Leeds.

Valentin Atangana has emerged as another option for Leeds following Stade de Reims’ relegation to Ligue 2 in France. They need to raise cash and the 19-year-old is one way to do that.

There’s likely to be others that emerge in the coming days, with Leeds spinning numerous plates in the market as they look to balance their squad and balance their finances in rebuilding it.