Six top signings Leeds United could make this summer - including Newcastle star and £42m World Cup gem

Leeds may have secured their Premier League survival with breathing room to spare in the first season back since promotion, but they now have a summer to work towards an even bigger challenge: Getting the better of second season syndrome.

Plenty of unfancied sides who impress in the top flight struggle to repeat the trick, and Leeds have a lot of work to do over the course of the summer transfer window, which opens tomorrow, in order to ensure that they can get their squad up to code before the new season starts in August.

We can expect to see plenty of activity – so we’ve taken a look at six of the players who have been strongly linked with a move to Elland Road, and what might happen next as Leeds go about their business.

Ousmane Diomande

Diomande is the ambitious name at the very top of Leeds’ summer shopping list. The 22-year-old Sporting centre-back has been watched by half of Europe’s biggest teams over the last two seasons and would command a hefty transfer fee, and Leeds could easily find themselves blown out of the bidding if a team like Arsenal – one of many supposed suitors – make a move. But that doesn’t seem to have stopped them trying.

Portuguese newspaper A Bola report that Leeds have already made contact ahead of a bid for the rising Ivorian star, who is expected to start for his country at the World Cup. It’s reckoned that Leeds will have to spend at least €50m (£42m) to get their man, and it may end up being more if he has a good time over the Atlantic this summer. Bidding for Diomande is arguably optimistic, but if the Whites do get a deal over the line then it could be one of the biggest coups of the transfer window. They seem likely to try, at least.

Nick Pope

Between the announcement of Illan Meslier’s departure, doubts over the future of Karl Darlow and the disappointment of Lucas Perri’s debut campaign with the club, it’s all but certain that Leeds will sign a new goalkeeper this summer – and while several have been linked, there are increasingly strong signs which suggest that Newcastle’s Nick Pope could be somewhere at the top of their shortlist.

The Chronicle have reported that there is growing “uncertainty” over Pope’s future, with Leeds’ apparent interest in the England international cited as a factor. Ipswich Town also seem to be keen and there is every chance that he stays at St. James’ Park to fight for his place, but it wouldn’t be a shock if he left for first-team football. There is interest in Manchester City’s James Trafford, too, although that may be a harder deal to get done and would certainly be much more expensive.

Yacine Titraoui

The 22-year-old, currently preparing for the World Cup with the Algerian national side, has been linked with Leeds persistently in recent weeks. The Yorkshire Post are among a number of media outlets who report that they’ve been monitoring the midfielder – not that they’re alone in keeping an eye on his progress. Sunderland and newly-promoted Hull City seem to be keen, too, and there’s too much competition for any one side to be sure of getting a deal done.

A defensive midfielder with genuine playmaking quality, Titraoui has been compared favourably with former PSG star Marco Verratti, with a similar combination of ball-winning skill and passing range – although he also has Verratti’s habit of committing a few too many fouls, as well. Titraoui has just one year left on his contract with Belgian club Charleroi, which should keep his price tag down. Most reports suggest that he wouldn’t cost much more than £10m, which could prove to be something of a bargain given his potential.

Léo Scienza

The Southampton winger put up 10 goals and 10 assists in the Championship last season and may well have been promoted with them were it not for the spying scandal – and that means that he could well be on the market, with Leeds said to be heavily interested in striking a deal for the 27-year-old Brazilian.

The Daily Mirror are one of many newspapers to have commented on their apparent interest, and it’s suggested that a transfer fee of around £25m would persuade the Saints to part ways with Scienza a year after he joined from German side Heidenheim for around a third of that cost. A late bloomer who offers a real threat in the final third, Scienza can also play as a number 10, which could be his home if Daniel Farke sticks with the 3-5-2 formation that brought him so much success over the past eight months.

Finn Azaz

Scienza isn’t the only Southampton star who appears to be of considerable interest. Like his team-mate Scienza, Azaz can also play as an attacking midfielder or as a left winger, also hit 20 combined goals and assists across the course of last season, and is also on Farke’s shopping list – according, at least, to rumours which stretch back over the past year or so.

Seemingly a long-term target, the 25-year-old Irishman could finally be available after Southampton were kicked out of the Championship play-offs and left to languish in the second tier. He cost £12m when he moved from Middlesbrough last summer and would likely cost more now after an impressive campaign. It’s fair to note, however, that the stories linking Leeds with Azaz now are mostly coming from the gossipier corners of the media and not from the most reliable sources. That doesn’t mean that they’re wrong, but they could just be recycling stories about old interest.

Roony Bardghji

A pipe dream? A genuinely realistic prospect? At this distance, it’s hard to tell – but there have been multiple rumours which suggest that Leeds are hoping to sign the immensely talented 20-year-old attacking midfielder from Barcelona, where his career has failed to take off as he finds himself competing for a place with Lamine Yamal. That’s not a fight he’s winning, but he might find it a little easier to get playing time at Elland Road.

Barcelona are looking for ways to raise funds for an expensive summer and Bardghji, although lavishly talented, could be sold in order to make financial room. The Swede seemingly wants to stay at the Camp Nou (who wouldn’t?) but may not have too much say in the matter. There would surely be other sides in the mix if he does leave Catalonia, but Leeds seem to be stood at the front of the queue now. It would certainly be one of the most exciting deals in the club’s history if they pulled it off.