Leeds close in on Nice defender Bard

Leeds United are closing in on an initial loan move for Nice defender Melvin Bard, with the deal containing an option to buy the Frenchman at the end of the season.

The move will see the Yorkshire club pay their French counterparts an initial one million euros, and they can then buy the left-back at the end of the campaign for a further five million euros if they want.

Bard, 25, is travelling to Elland Road on deadline day to complete a medical.

The addition will add depth to the full-back positions with Gabriel Gudmundsson the only current left-sided option available to manager Daniel Farke.

There is also uncertainty around Leeds’ attack, with Willy Gnonto in Florence completing a move to Fiorentina.

The initial loan move for the Italian to return to Serie A was contingent on Leeds finding a replacement but they saw a move for Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk successfully hijacked by Tottenham.

Bard would be Leeds’ sixth senior signing of the summer after goalkeepers James Trafford and Michael Zetterer, defenders Nico Elvedi and Tarik Muharemovic and forward Harry Wilson.