Leeds cannot afford to pay the release clause of Cagliari midfielder Nahitan Nandez in one installment, according to Calciomercato.

What's the latest transfer news involving Nandez?

Leeds have held a long-term interest in Nandez, as they tried to sign the 25-year-old last summer but to no avail.

They remain keen on the Uruguayan, who has a €36m (£31m) release clause in his contract. However, it has been reported that the club are not in a position to spend this amount on a single player this summer, meaning that they may need to negotiate a compromise with Cagliari if they are to land Nandez in the current transfer window.

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How likely is it that Leeds will be able to negotiate a deal with Cagliari for Nandez?

It has been claimed that Leeds' majority owner Andrea Radrizzani has an excellent relationship with his Cagliari counterpart, Tommaso Giulini. This could prove very useful if the two men come together to negotiate a deal for Nandez.

Still, Nandez is an established international with 39 caps to his name for his country, and he is seemingly at the peak of his career. Therefore, it seems unlikely that Giulini will roll over and accept a derisory offer for the combative midfielder.

With this in mind, Radrizzani may have to get creative and offer to pay in multiple installments, or come up with another idea outside the box if he is get Nandez over to Elland Road this summer.

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Are Leeds close to completing any other signings?

Indeed they are. 

The club are reportedly closing in on signing Barcelona left-back Junior Firpo for a fee in the region of €15m (£12.8m).

Leeds appear to have beaten AC Milan to his signature, and the 24-year-old could have his medical as early as the start of next week.

Has Leeds' transfer policy become clearer thanks to the Nandez situation?

Last summer, Leeds made a big impact in the transfer window, as they completed three of the four most expensive transfers in their history by adding Rodrigo (£27m), Diego Llorente (£18m) and Raphinha (£16.72m) to their squad.

However, it seems that they may not be as willing to splash the cash so much this time around. The Nandez situation has indicated that Leeds will not spend upwards of £30m on a player.

Meanwhile, going after Firpo for less than £13m suggests that they are looking at options around this benchmark moving forwards. 

Of course, there's still plenty of scope between £13m and £30m, so it's unlikely Firpo will be Leeds' most expensive signing of the summer. But based on the latest update on Nandez, Leeds fans expecting a big-money signing before the transfer window closes are probably going to be left disappointed.