Decision made on £7m Leeds United transfer target as 'enquiry' received and 'great risk' outlined

Leeds United’s hope of a cut-price deal for Hidemasa Morita has been dented with reports suggesting Sporting CP will not accept bargain offers despite the ‘great risk’ of losing their midfielder for free next summer.

Morita emerged as a prospective target for Leeds last month with Portuguese newspaper Record identifying Elland Road as a possible destination for the 30-year-old, who will enter the final month of his Sporting deal this summer. That report came before promotion was confirmed and now 49ers Enterprises are recruiting for the Premier League, links have intensified.

Record provided a fresh update on Morita last week, suggesting Leeds were ‘well-placed’ to sign the midfielder having seen promotion confirmed, with the feeling a cut-price deal was possible due to that contract uncertainty. The Japan international has a release clause worth €45million (£38.4m) but it was claimed Sporting could cash in for as little as €8m (£6.8m).

And now Portuguese outlet Maisfutebol has gone into more detail on Sporting’s stance, outlining their plans to make one last push for a contract extension once the current campaign is over. They also add that whether Morita pens a new deal or not, those hoping for a bargain deal could be left disappointed.

Sporting are believed to maintain a good relationship with Morita, who is not actively pushing to leave currently, and so they would rather see the Japan international run down his current contract than accept a cut-price offer. And the Portuguese giants accept the ‘great risk’ of losing a key first-team player for nothing next year, if a resolution cannot be found.

Sporting CP standing strong on Hidemasa Morita amid Leeds United links

Of course, there is every chance this information has been provided by Sporting themselves in a bid to maintain their strong negotiating stance. No club would openly come out to publicly welcome cut-price offers for their players, regardless of contract uncertainty, with the aim being to make the best out of a difficult transfer situation on their part.

The report from Maisfutebol adds that Morita is happy with Sporting, who are on course to win the Portuguese top-flight this season, but the experienced midfielder ‘dreams’ of playing in the Premier League - a stance that could benefit Leeds, who are said to have made an enquiry towards the player. At present, Sporting haven’t received any kind of concrete offer but that could easily change once the transfer window opens next month.

Should reports of interest in Morita be accurate, then it appears Leeds will look to adopt an approach that landed them some very recent transfer bargains by targeting players with a year or less on their contracts. The most notable success came in their £5m purchase of Jayden Bogle from promotion rivals Sheffield United, a price-tag that has proven to be great business.

Morita’s Japan international teammate Ao Tanaka was also into the final 12 months of his Fortuna Dusseldorf contract last summer, with Leeds swooping in to sign him for less than £3m. And Elland Road chiefs will also reflect on that price-tag as an impressive pick-up, given his influence on an incredible title-winning campaign.

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