Major Leeds United transfer blow as Dejan Ljubičić 'decision made' after £3.3m bid rejected

Leeds United look to have ended their pursuit of Dejan Ljubičić with reports in Germany now claiming the move is off.

Ljubičić emerged as a possible target for Leeds earlier this summer, with midfield reinforcements needed following Glen Kamara’s £8million move to Stade Rennais. Daniel Farke’s side saw a £3.3m (€4m) bid rejected by 1.FC Koln last month but despite retaining their interest, weren’t thought to have come back with an improved number.

Speculation went quiet for some time but resurfaced this week, with three reports in as many days suggesting Ljubičić was desperate to push for a move, having entered the final year of his contract at recently-relegated Koln. German outlet BILD has claimed on multiple occasions that the 26-year-old was keen on swapping Cologne for Leeds, although there was no mention of a fresh offer.

But they now claim a move for Ljubičić has fallen through, with Leeds opting against the ‘financial risk’ of signing the midfielder. There is no suggestion how much Koln were demanding for their man but recruitment chiefs inside Elland Road now look set to move on to other targets.

Koln chiefs are said to be far from happy with Ljubičić’s agents for trying to force through a move and seemingly relaying their player’s stance to German media over the past few days. But with Leeds seemingly moving on, the midfielder looks set to stay in the German second-tier.

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Ljubičić was not involved in his side’s DFB-Pokal victory over SV Sandhausen last weekend, with the official reason being knee problems despite his presence in training all week. The Austrian has since returned to full training this week and is fit, with his quality needed as Gerhard Struber searches for a first league win of the season.

Ljubičić is into the final 12 months of his contract at Koln and doesn’t yet look like extending his stay, leaving the German side with a choice to make. They now look set to keep the Austrian international but could risk either losing him for a cut-price in January, or for free next summer.

Reports last summer claimed Koln rejected approaches from Wolfsburg, with Sky Germany reporting at the time that Ljubičić was valued between €8-10m (£6.8-£8.5m). The matter was somewhat complicated by Koln being placed under a transfer embargo, with the German second-tier club unable to bring any prospective replacements in and instead having to solve problems within the current group.

Leeds have one week to conclude any transfer business and remain keen on signing a first-team central midfielder, with Farke currently switching between Ilia Gruev and Joe Rothwell as the partner for Ethan Ampadu. Recruitment chiefs are also working to sign a second attacker, following Largie Ramazani’s £10m arrival, and cover at full-back.