Sky Sports journo reveals "verbal agreement" for £13m Leeds target, Orta will be livid - opinion

Leeds United have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to bring Chris Richards to Elland Road this summer.

In a recent post on Twitter, Florian Plettenberg revealed that, despite Victor Orta being heavily linked with a move for the Bayern Munich centre-back in recent weeks, Crystal Palace have now reached a verbal agreement with the 22-year-old ahead of a potential switch to Selhurst Park this summer.

The Sky Sports Deutschland journalist continued to state that negotiations between the Premier League and Bundesliga clubs are ongoing regarding a fee for the USA international – with the German champions believed to be willing to cash in on the defender for a figure in the region of €15m (£13m).

In his tweet, Plettenberg said: “News Chris Richards: He has a verbal agreement with Crystal Palace. The Bayern defender wants to join them. Now the clubs has to find an agreement. Negotiations ongoing.”

Considering just how promising a centre-back Richards looks to be, Plettenberg’s claim that Palace now look to be closing in on a deal for the 22-year-old is sure to have left Orta livid.

Indeed, according to FBref, the £6.75m-rated talent ranks in the top 1% of centre-backs in Europe’s big five leagues and European competitions for blocks per 90, as well as the top 2% for aerial duels won, the top 17% for pressures, the top 18% for interceptions and the top 28% for tackles over the last 365 days.

The £13k-per-week defender also impresses going forwards, ranking in the top 6% for non-penalty xG per 90, in addition to the top 6% for assists, the top 20% for shots, the top 18% for progressive passes, the top 16% for passes attempted, the top 27% for non-penalty goals and the top 15% for touches in the opposition penalty area over the