Star Player DITCHED by Team for Wanting to Join Leeds United”

According to BILD, top agent Volker Struth has parted ways with Dejan Ljubicic after the midfielder and his team attempted to force a “dream” move to Leeds United.

The German publication reported on August 23 that a major dispute has erupted at FC Koln.

The 2. Bundesliga club blocked a transfer to Elland Road, rejecting Leeds’ €4 million (£3.4 million) offer [Kicker, August 18].

Not only did the move fall through, but Struth and Sports360 GmbH have ended their relationship with Ljubicic, finding it impossible to work with him.

Numerous members of the Austrian’s inner circle reportedly got involved in trying to push through the Leeds transfer against Koln’s wishes.

This caused surprise due to the number of people attempting to negotiate on his behalf instead of Struth.

Ljubicic previously split from agent Dirk Hebel last summer after attempting to move to Werder Bremen under different representation.

He has now reportedly changed agents five times in the past 18 months.

Daniel Farke is close to securing his second attacking reinforcement, with Tottenham’s Manor Solomon set to join [David Ornstein, August 24] after Largie Ramazani from Almeria.

However, he’s been waiting a month for a new central midfielder to replace Glen Kamara, who left for Rennes [Leeds Live, July 13].

While Ljubicic seemed a good fit for this role on paper, and Koln’s relegation might have raised hopes at Elland Road, the fallout from the failed transfer might be raising red flags suggesting Leeds is better off avoiding the potential headache.

This summer’s transfer window is beginning to resemble last year’s, with a late push needed in the final days before the deadline to complete business well after the season’s start.

Similar to last year when Leeds lost patience with Nadiem Amiri’s potential move from Bayern Leverkusen [Kicker, August 28] due to family influence [Kicker, November 3], it appears drama surrounding another possible midfield signing from Germany is becoming an annual occurrence.

Leeds responded last year by signing Kamara from Rangers and Ilia Gruev from Werder Bremen just before the deadline, so fans will hope the club can achieve something similar this time around.