Leeds United target Josko Gvardiol set to be lured by Bundesliga and RB Leipzig despite a bigger Elland Road offer, according to reports

The Whites' transfer strategy has been two-pronged this summer, trying to add proven quality to upgrade their squad for Premier League football, and younger talent to develop for the longer-term.

They have had more success in the latter category but it does not now look as though it will extend to 18-year-old centre-back Gvardiol, who is thought to be close to a move to RB Leipzig.

Leeds are believed to have had a £19.6m bid accepted by Dinamo Zagreb, who were knocked out of the Champions League at the qualifying stage by Ferencvaros last week with Gvardiol playing the full 90 minutes.

The Elland Road club are thought to have offered Gvardiol a four-year contract on better terms but increasingly English clubs are finding their financial muscle is not enough to compete with the leading German clubs for top European talent. Birmingham City's Jude Bellingham recently followed the lead of Alf-Inge Haaland's son, the prolific striker Erling, in joining Borussia Dortmund despite interest from Manchester United this year, and a string of emerging English talents – most notably Jordan Sancho – have left for the Bundesliga to progress their careers faster.

The depth of quality in the Premier League is seen as a barrier to young talent, whereas German clubs are thought to be more willing to take a risk playing youngsters in their first team. Leipzig's reputation has been built on signing and developing top young players, although it has been suggested the Croatian under-21 international could be loaned out.

Teenagers Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood, Charlie Allen, Cody Drameh and Dani van den Heuvel have all joined Leeds this summer but are yet to be involved in the first team, even in a much-changed side for the League Cup exit at the hands of Hull City.

Spain centre-forward Rodrigo and Germany centre-back Robin Koch have been the only senior additions, and Leeds's pursuit of Udinese playmaker Rodrigo de Paul appears to have hit an impasse, with the clubs unable to agree a fee for the Argentinian.

When Leeds podcast The Square Ball tweeted that, “Apparently, he's keen on the move but it now rests on the clubs,” de Paul replied “Yes” with a fingers crossed emoji last week, but swiftly deleted the post.

Atalanta's Ruslan Malinovskyi has been mooted as an alternative. The 27-year-old was mainly used as a centre-forward (or more accurately, a substitute) by his club last season, but played on the right of a midfield three in both of Ukraine's Nations League games in September. He is valued at around £20m.

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