Leeds United have been credited with an interest in Genoa defender Koni De Winter. A report in the I Paper claims the the 22-year-old has already caught the eye of the Whites, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers ahead of the summer transfer window.

It is not the first time United have been linked with De Winter. He emerged as a potential transfer target last year during the back end of their promotion charge.

De Winter spent his formative years in Belgium before moving to Serie A in 2021. He was snapped up by Italian giants Juventus and quickly fast-tracked into their first team.

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But De Winter found regular first team football hard to come by in Turin and was farmed out on loan to Empoli and Genoa. He eventually joined Genoa on a permanent basis in the summer of 2024 in a £6.8m deal. The Belgian international, regarded as a ball-playing defender, has played 14 times for Genoa across all competitions this term, scoring three goals.

“All my life I have been told I play like Vincent Kompany,” De Winter told the I Paper. “I have this ability to make runs with the ball like he did, I have the same technical side.

“It’s a really big name, so I one day hope to be able to live up to him. You look at the other big names (former Belgian Premier League defenders) and it is only right that they ended playing up in the best competitions.”

De Winter, who can also be utilised at full-back, is currently playing under Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira, who succeeded Alberto Gilardino as Genoa boss in November. Genoa sit 12th in Serie A after accumulating 27 points from 24 matches this season. Although De Winter is enjoying his football in Italy, he has not ruled out strutting his stuff in the Premier League one day.

“Italy for me was a big change because the football they play here is a lot different from where I grew up in Belgium,” he said. “I think I’m also lucky that I came when I was young, so I got used to it and then when you get older you get comfortable playing this style.

“I just want to come as far as possible. It’s not that I say I have to play Premier League or I have to play Bundesliga, I just want the best, the best for myself. The Premier League is one of the best competitions in the world, so yes, I hear some nice things.”

Defence is an area the Whites are highly likely to strengthen in the summer as they continue their push for promotion. Daniel Farke currently has three recognised centre-backs on his books in Joe Rodon, Pascal Struijk and Max Wober. Club captain Ethan Ampadu has also lined up at the heart of their rearguard but Farke prefers him in midfield.

Wober has endured an injury-hit campaign. He underwent knee surgery on Thursday, ruling him out for the next six weeks.