Premier League transfer: Why Leeds United may not sign Zaidu Sanusi this summer

Leeds United’s pursuit of Super Eagles left-back Zaidu Sanusi is facing a fresh set of complications this summer, with the defender’s return to FC Porto’s pre-season training, Afrik Foot reports.

Sanusi was welcomed back to the Olival training complex by Porto manager Francesco Farioli this week after being granted an extended holiday following his international commitments with the Super Eagles in June.

The 29-year-old featured in Nigeria’s 2-2 draw with Poland and their narrow 2-1 defeat to Portugal before returning to Lisbon, where he will undergo medical examinations and physical fitness tests before rejoining the squad for the intensive double training sessions Farioli has scheduled from Tuesday.

His smooth reintegration into pre-season, arriving alongside Bednarek, Jakub Kiwior and several other returning internationals, carries the impression of a player the club intends to keep in their plans, at least for now.

Sanusi enters the final year of his Porto contract, and the Portuguese champions have expressed interest in extending his deal. His return to pre-season alongside the first team signals that Farioli considers the 32-cap Super Eagles defender part of his campaign to defend the Liga Portugal title.

Leeds have tracked Sanusi for well over a year, coming close to a deal last summer before the Nigerian opted to remain at Porto and ultimately played 26 appearances across all competitions in the title-winning campaign.

The Whites remain interested, and Daniel Farke’s need for a reliable left-back with top-flight experience fits Sanusi’s profile precisely, but two obstacles have emerged that now cast serious doubt over whether the deal can be completed this summer.

Why Leeds United may not sign Zaidu Sanusi this summer

The first reason is Porto’s squad dynamics, specifically the Francisco Moura situation and the club’s pursuit of Nuno Tavares.

With Moura, who shared the left-back position with Sanusi last season, attracting Premier League interest from Coventry City, Porto face the very real prospect of losing both of their left-backs in the same transfer window, a scenario the Portuguese champions are actively working to prevent.

Making any deal to sell Sanusi to Leeds will be impossible unless a replacement like Tavares, the former Arsenal and Marseille full-back currently at Lazio, arrives first.

Porto are weighing up a move for Tavares precisely because they anticipate a sale, but until that replacement is secured, the Portuguese club’s hand is effectively forced.

The second reason is timing. Sanusi’s return to pre-season training in Lisbon this week, welcomed openly by Farioli and integrated seamlessly into the club’s pre-season programme, suggests that Porto are not managing him as an outgoing player.

Clubs that expect a player to leave handle their pre-season training very differently: they manage training loads carefully. Farioli’s open welcome of Sanusi back to Olival and the scheduling of intensive double sessions that include the Nigerian international send the opposite message.

For Leeds, the Sanusi pursuit is not dead, but the path to completing it has narrowed considerably.

Porto’s reluctance to sell before securing a replacement, combined with Sanusi’s smooth return to pre-season training, means the Yorkshire club may ultimately have to look elsewhere to solve their left-back problem before the summer window slams shut.