Leeds United have tabled a transfer bid for Pantelis Chatzidiakos after the defender accepted an offer following Liam Cooper’s injury against Cardiff City.

According to Spor Time, Pantelis Chatzidiakos has accepted an offer from Leeds United and a bid has been made to AZ Alkmaar to sign him.

On Sunday evening (6 August), the Greek newspaper stated on their website that the 26-year-old centre-back had “accepted an offer from Leeds United to compete” and that his tenure with the Eredivisie team was “coming to an end.”
AZ apparently wants up to €4 million [£3.45 million], but The Whites have now tabled a bid of €2.5 million [£2.16 million] to close the deal after a 15-day “open” pursuit.

Leeds United have been linked with Taylor Harwood-Bellis of Manchester City and Nat Phillips of Liverpool as Daniel Farke seeks a replacement for Max Wober, Robin Koch, Diego Llorente, and Rasmus Kristensen, but both are expected to cost £10 million or more.

Captain Liam Cooper was then stretchered off injured after scoring in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Cardiff City, compounding the defensive problems.

Incoming?

The Whites‘ first game of the season appears to have confirmed why the manager needs to add at centre-back above all else.

Cooper and Pascal Struijk were unsteady in the midfield as the Bluebirds took a two-goal lead, with Leo Hjelde also suffering on the left and Luke Ayling contributing to both goals surrendered.

The captain injured his ankle when attempting to save a goal and may now be ruled out for the rest of the game, as he was replaced by Charlie Cresswell.
Wober‘s loan move to Borussia Monchengladbach shattered Farke‘s pre-season plans, and while Chatzidiakos appears to be a low-cost option, he might now be part of the answer.

The Greek international has 27 caps for his country and European experience in the Europa League, as well as 11 appearances in AZ’s run to the Europa Conference League semi-finals last season, where they were eliminated by eventual champions West Ham.

Central defence has been an issue for much of the past two years, and the loss of Wober, the top option at the position, has only accentuated that.

Cresswell is undoubtedly in position for a bigger part today, but it appears that the Whites have rushed to sign Chatzidiakos in response to the Cardiff loss.