Leeds United have an interesting summer ahead as they look to build on their Premier League survival by becoming a deal that avoids all threat of a relegation battle. The Whites enjoyed a solid first season back in the Premier League, but it wasn't without a little discomfort along the way. Daniel Farke's men must now avoid the old second season syndrome, and the club will be well aware that signing higher quality players will be crucial to that effort. Such signings do not come cheap, though, and the latest linked star certainly won't. Leeds lining up ambitious move for defender According to a fresh report, Leeds are now weighing up an ambitious move for Sporting CP centre-back Ousmané Diomande. The 22-year-old centre-back, who has previously attracted Premier League attention, is the subject of interest from the Whites as they look to bolster their defence. Farke's current options include Joe Rodon, Pascal Struijk, Jaka Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw, but Diomande would be a clear upgrade. Speaking on the Market Madness podcast, journalist Ben Jacobs said: "I think at the moment Ousmane Diomande is going to be one of the most interesting sagas of this window. Remember a centre-back at Sporting that has always had a hugely high release clause that has been prohibitive to any club actually striking a deal there, and it was Crystal Palace originally. This wasn't even the window when Marc Guehi left; it was the summer before he departed, when it looked like Guehi was going to Liverpool, and Palace were trying, but there were real issues around the overall cost of the deal. With Leeds, they want to add in that position at this stage. The suggestions that they've put £45million-plus on the table are wide of the mark, according to my understanding. Sporting sources say that there's been no bid yet, but Leeds have been tracking Diomande for quite some time, so we have to wait and see whether that develops into anything, or if the price still feels too high. West Ham really liked Diomande, but can't do anything now because they've gone down. I think it might have been a different case had they stayed in the Premier League. Leipzig have looked in the past too, and again been put off by the costs, but if they brought in big money for somebody like Yan Diomande, even though they would want to strengthen in that area further up the field, do they decide to make a play as well? So this is definitely going to be a saga to watch, but he, like Yan Diomande, will also be out at the World Cup with the Ivory Coast, so we might have to be patient for that particular potential transfer saga to resolve itself. Diomande competition likely By the time the World Cup is over, Leeds may have much more competition for Diomande if they do decide to formalise interest, and if they did, the defender would likely be the most expensive signing of their summer. Given his age, his ability and his demonstrated capability to thrive even at Champions League level, more interest is likely in the defender. It is no secret that he is one of the brightest emerging centre-back talents, with his former Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim having said previously: “Diomande plays with both feet, and is very physically strong. “He is a very talented player and most people don’t know how many clubs were after him. The truth is that we managed to get him because we took a risk by telling the kids that they’re coming to play for the first team, he’s got a lot of scope for