Leeds United are reportedly keen to sign SC Freiburg centre-back Bruno Ogbus, despite facing competition from Nottingham Forest and AC Milan for the defender.
His potential caught the eye of clubs across Europe, with AC Milan having a “low-figure” bid in the millions, which rejected the player. But Sky Sports Germany’s Dennis Bayer was first to break the news that they were facing competition for his services.
So far, he has played nine games for their other team, SC Freiburg II, in the 3rd League. While he made most of his appearances at youth level in their U-19 team and in the A-Junioren-Bundesliga.
Freiburg II were relegated from the 3. Liga, the lowest level of professional football in Germany, in 20th place, meaning they were relegated to the Fussball Regionalligo. However, Ogbus only started six of the nine games he appeared in and picked up two yellow cards in those games.
The latest interest comes from both English sides, who are said to be monitoring his development, although Freiburg intend to retain his services. Leeds and Forest are considering a move for the youngster this summer, Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has confirmed.
It has been said that Freiburg’s plan for Ogbus is to integrate Julian Schuster into the first team and also that they hope the promise of Bundesliga football will keep him at the club.
His playing time in recent seasons has come for the U-19 team and their B team, where SC Freiburg II competed last season in Germany’s third division. He may wonder how ready he is for first-team football in the Championship – England’s second tier.
FLW’s Leeds United fans expert Kris Smith hopes the Whites will sign the centre-back and believes the young defender hints at the type of profile Leeds would be looking for this summer.
He said: “It’s hard to know exactly what Leeds would get with Ogbus, but the fact that Nottingham Forest – the Premier League side and AC Milan – the European giants were both looking for this teenage centre-back without any senior looks says a lot about him.
“From what we can see, he looks like he has a very athletic build and looks more than comfortable with the ball at his feet when playing from the back.
“Even if it’s reserve football, those are two big ticks for the scout team when they’re looking to see if he’d be a good signing for the future.
“Obviously, given our centre-back situation, we probably need a young backup in Joe Rodon on the right side of the centre-back pairing.
“Given that the only other options are left-backs or U-21 players, someone coming in as a project signing in that gap like Ogbus makes a lot of sense for us.
“How much he would cost remains to be seen, and of course that would show whether the deal would be profitable or not – but AC Milan turning down a £1m offer shows you how much teams are willing to pay.
“But there’s definitely some brilliant talent here that’s worth keeping an eye on.”
Leeds United centre-back options 2024/25
As Smith suggests, Leeds only have one right-sided centre-back in their first team and it is possible they are keen to keep Ethan Ampadu in the middle rather than ensure he replaces Rodon on the right. center back
Pascal Struijk is left-handed but could cover on the right in a crisis, while Max Wöber is very committed to the left or left-back. It may not be the team’s most pressing area to address in the final weeks of the window, but it’s certainly something to think about.
James Debayo has impressed in pre-season, while Diogo Monteiro is yet to make a first-team appearance. The pair may be considered less ready in terms of development compared to Ogbus, which may explain Leeds’ interest.