According to Italian source Tutto Mercato, Leeds are considering a move for Bari's 33-year-old centre-back Valerio Di Cesare, after deciding against signing Joel Ekstrand.

After deciding against signing Joel Ekstrand due to the player's recent injury woes, United have reportedly identified Di Cesare as a transfer target.

The 33-year-old, who had spells with Torino and Brescia prior to joining Bari, has played in England before with Chelsea's youth squad, but he did not make a senior appearance and he left the Blues in 2003.

The Rome-born defender is highly experienced in Serie B, having made over 250 appearances in the division. Last season, he played on 31 occassions for Bari, scoring one goal.

The need for another centre-back was highighted by the fact that midfielders Toumani Diagouraga and Luke Murphy both played in the centre of defence yesterday evening, so there could perhaps be something in this rumour.

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