Leeds United close in on loan move for Nice left-back Melvin Bard
Leeds United are closing in on an initial loan move for Nice defender Melvin Bard, with the 25-year-old travelling to Elland Road on deadline day to complete a medical and the deal containing an option to buy at the end of the season.
The move will see Leeds pay Nice an initial one million euros, with the club able to sign Bard permanently for a further five million euros at the end of the campaign. Bard is a left-back and the signing is intended to bolster options in the full-back positions, where Gabriel Gudmundsson is currently the only left-sided choice available to manager Daniel Farke. The club are operating amid uncertainty around their attack after Willy Gnonto travelled to Florence to complete a move to Fiorentina. Leeds had made a bid for Chelsea's Mykhailo Mudryk but that move was hijacked by Tottenham.
Bard's arrival is positioned as cover and competition on the left flank; the player is expected to undergo a medical at Elland Road as part of the deadline-day formalities. The initial loan structure, plus the end-of-season purchase option, sets a clear financial framework for the move between the two clubs.
Willy Gnonto's transfer to Fiorentina was contingent on Leeds finding a replacement, a condition that underpinned their interest in attracting a left-sided defender before finalising the Italian's loan back to Serie A. Leeds' pursuit of Mykhailo Mudryk failed when Tottenham completed a deal, removing an alternative target the club had explored during the window.
If completed, Bard would be Leeds' sixth senior signing of the summer, following goalkeepers James Trafford and Michael Zetterer, defenders Nico Elvedi and Tarik Muharemovic, and forward Harry Wilson. Those arrivals predate Bard's expected deadline-day medical and form the senior additions to the squad so far this transfer window.
Bard is due to complete his medical at Elland Road on deadline day; the loan includes an option to buy him outright for five million euros at the end of the season, should Leeds choose to exercise that clause.
