Borussia Monchengladbach chief's blunt Max Wober transfer admission amid £10m Leeds United 'demands'

Borussia Monchengladbach sporting director Roland Virkus insists his side ‘cannot meet’ Leeds United’s Max Wober price-tag - but the club chief has suggested he will remain patient in the hope of targets becoming available closer to the deadline.

Wober looks set to stay at Leeds next season after holding talks with manager Daniel Farke, following his return from a season-long loan spell at Gladbach. The Austrian defender was one of several to force his way out of Elland Road after triggering an exit clause that became active following relegation to the Championship.

Having impressed on loan, Wober was wanted permanently by Gladbach but reports in Germany suggested Leeds demanded between €10-12million (£8.4-10.1m) for the 26-year-old. The Bundesliga club have been unable to match that valuation and so a return looks unlikely, although their sporting director did not categorically rule out another approach.

"We are of course monitoring the market," Virkus told The Rheinische Post. "We cannot meet Leeds United's demands [for Wober] and Leeds is not looking for a loan. That is why the matter is on hold for the time being. But we have always found good solutions - and players like Max Wober sometimes come back onto the market at the very end. Of course, there are also late decisions."

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Wober flew out to Germany with the Leeds squad earlier this month and featured in both pre-season friendlies against Hannover 96 and Schalke. The experienced Austrian looks to have settled into Farke’s style with relative ease and linked up well with Crysencio Summerville when playing at left-back in the first game.

But both he and fellow loan return Brenden Aaronson still have plenty to do if they want to be back in the good books of supporters - something Aaronson candidly admitted in a recent interview with the YEP. Farke has shown a willingness to welcome players back in from the cold, however, and insists the returning pair can contribute to the upcoming promotion push.

"For me, it's important the attitude and mentality of the player,” he told the YEP recently. “I got the feeling in our conversations that both Max and also Brenden were really desperate to come back and they valued also what they had and they want to repay also the trust that the club has shown into them as once they spent lots of money in order to bring them in.

“But again, one thing is also to have this decision to come back, but still they have to convince with hard work, with performances in the friendlies and also in the games. Obviously they came back a bit later due to the tournaments which is always a bit tricky, so we probably perhaps have to be a bit patient until they are back in their best shape. But overall, I got the feeling that they can help a lot during the season and hopefully they can also repay our trust."