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Leeds United will hope to replicate these two eye-catching Genk deals if De Condé agreement arrives – View

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Image for Leeds United will hope to replicate these two eye-catching Genk deals if De Condé agreement arrives – View

Leeds United have reportedly registered their interest in appointing Genk technical director Dimitri De Condé as the replacement of Victor Orta.

Leeds are aiming for a lot of changes this summer and ones that will happen quickly too in order to ensure the transfer window goes swimmingly ahead of the 2023/24 season.

To do that, they need a replacement for departed director of football Victor Orta, who left the club earlier in May.

Reports from Belgian outlet Nieuwsblad claimed that Leeds are one of the sides who have taken a keen interest in Genk’s technical director Dimitri De Condé, after some fine work with the club has seen him raise around €300million in sales since he joined in 2015.

Here, we look at two deals that Condé secured at Genk that Leeds would be looking to replicate in terms of quality and value…

Leon Bailey

The first thing to note with Genk’s record sales is that seven of their top 10 most valuable player sales are for players that were aged 24 and below.

One of De Condé’s best signings at Genk was to bring in 18-year-old winger Leon Bailey from Slovakian side AC Trencin’s youth setup for a reported £1.22million.

His first senior campaign brought an impressive seven goals and 11 assists for Genk, before a strong start to the 2016/17 season yielded interest from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, where the German club offered £12.8million.

Within the space of 18 months, Bailey had seen his value increase tenfold by the time he was sold, a masterstroke from De Condé to identify such talent.

Would Brendan Rodgers be a good appointment?

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Sander Berge

Another player who will be in the Premier League next season here in Sheffield United midfielder Sander Berge.

The Norwegian was identified by De Condé while he was playing for Valerenga, joining Genk for a £1.4million fee in 2016/17 as an 18-year-old.

It took Berge time to become a guaranteed starter for Genk, but shone when he did despite his young age, putting in strong performances in Europe as well as in the league.

The 2019/20 campaign brought more stellar performances, eventually leading to Sheffield United paying £22million for him in January 2020.

Such a fee to sell him on for is nearly 16 times the amount they paid for him as a teenager, and it shows real quality from De Condé to identify players that early.

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Leeds United season ticket holder since 2013/14, currently situated in the middle of the FA5 noise. From Pablo Hernandez to 5-1 drubbings, I've seen it all at Elland Road.