Leeds United tracking £8.3m star Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers wanted to sign last summer

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The 2025 summer transfer window is still several months away but Leeds United are already making plans to strengthen their squad.

Currently, Leeds United are battling it out at the top end of the Championship, aiming to secure a Premier League return after suffering play-off heartbreak last season.

Daniel Farke’s men most recently beat Millwall 2-0 on Wednesday evening, cementing themselves as clear league leaders.

Sheffield United are second in the division but dropped points in the midweek Championship action to hand Leeds a two-point advantage.

Meanwhile, third-place Burnley have moved four adrift of top spot, suggesting automatic promotion is looking very likely for the Yorkshire outfit in 2024/25.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LeedsLeeds	37	23	10	4	74	23	51	79
2	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	37	24	7	6	52	28	24	77
3	BurnleyBurnley	37	20	15	2	50	11	39	75
4	SunderlandSunderland	37	19	12	6	55	34	21	69
5	West BromWest Brom	37	13	17	7	47	33	14	56

In turn, it’s not surprising to see that Leeds are already beginning to lay out their plans for the upcoming summer transfer window.

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Leeds United eye star Blackburn and Sheffield United tried to sign

If they do secure promotion back to the top flight, which is looking likely, EFL Analysis understands Kalvin Phillips is open to a Leeds return.

The midfielder is currently on loan at Ipswich Town, but given their position, it’s unlikely they will be able to turn his move into a permanent one.

Aside from a potential Phillips reunion, Leeds are also seemingly looking to improve their forward line in the upcoming transfer window.

This comes with Africa Foot reporting this week that Ibrahima Kone is now attracting interest from the Whites, who are in the market for attacking additions this summer.

In terms of a potential transfer fee for the striker, it’s understood he has a €10m (around £8.3m) release clause in his current contract with UD Almeria.

Kone has never played in England before, but Leeds’ promotion rivals Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers were said to have tried to pry him away from Spain in the 2024 summer transfer window.

Everything Leeds United fans need to know about Ibrahima Kone

Kone began his playing career in his home country of Mali with CO Bamako before moving to Europe and linking up with Norweigan side Haugesund.

After a brief loan stint in Turkey, he joined FC Lorient, where he had his most prolific spell as a goalscorer.

Kone moved to Almeria in 2023 and, after playing one season in Spain, was loaned to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Okhdood Club for the 2024/25 season.

He’s so far scored three goals and provided one assist in 15 outings for them and has also found the back of the net 13 times in just 19 games for his country.