Who is Dario Essugo? The £6m star wanted by Leeds United | OneFootball

FLW outline the background career of Sporting CP's Dario Essugo, with Leeds United interested in the midfielder.

Leeds United are plotting a January transfer raid for promising Sporting CP holding midfielder Dario Essugo, with the 19-year-old currently on loan at UD Las Palmas in La Liga.

The latest comes from Alan Nixon via his Patreon account, which claims that the West Yorkshire outfit wish to offer a loan to buy agreement for the player in the middle of their battle for Championship promotion.

The 19-year-old has been enjoying a mostly productive loan in Spain with Las Palmas this season, but Leeds are looking to offer a deal to Sporting that is good enough to break that agreement and sign him themselves during the winter window.

Leeds have a proud history of developing young talent, and the emergence of Dario Essugo in the last few seasons may have many fans eager to see if he can be the next star in their ranks.

But just who is Essugo, and what could he offer to the club’s defensive ranks if they secure a deal? We take a look, here.

Dario Essugo's career so far

Born March 14, 2005, Essugo has been with Sporting CP since the age of nine, and has progressed through the academy before featuring for the B-team and the senior setup.

Essugo's progress within Sporting’s youth setup has been swift, and he’s now established himself as a first-team option in Spanish football's top-flight, and could be in line to do so under Daniel Farke. In March 2021, he signed his first professional contract with the Portuguese giants.

However, just four days later, before he had even appeared in a match for the junior, U-23 or reserve side, he made his debut in the Primeira Liga with the first-team, coming on as a late substitute for João Mário in a 1-0 win against Vitória de Guimarães during a whirlwind start to life as a professional.

He broke another club record the following March, when he surpassed Luís Figo as the youngest starter at 16 years, 11 months and 17 days in a 2–0 home victory over F.C. Arouca. By the age of 19, he had made 25 senior appearances for Sporting, including two cameos in the Champions League and three in the Europa League.

On 31 January 2024, Essugo was loaned to fellow top-division G.D. Chaves until the end of the season after he caught the eye with his calmness on the ball and ability to read the game, while also being physically robust for his age and size. Per FotMob, during his second loan to Las Palmas, he has been the side's second-highest rated player, with an average match rating of 7.16 so far.

Standing at 5'10”, Essugo has the physical presence both in terms of his strength and engine to compete at the highest level. However, it’s not just his incredible durability at the age of 19 that makes him stand out. He has excellent positional awareness, rarely finding himself out of place, and his ability to anticipate danger is well beyond his years.

Earlier on in the 2024-25 season, Essugo was loaned out to Las Palmas in Spain, and so far during his time there has made 10 league starts, even getting his name on the scoresheet when finding the back of the net in their 3-2 defeat to RCD Mallorca last month.

What makes Essugo particularly exciting is also the potential to be excellent in possession, with his composure also standing out in a team who have largely struggled in 14th in La Liga.

In modern football, defensive midfielders need to be more than just physical enforcers; they must be comfortable playing out from deep areas and contributing in build-up phases.

Essugo fits this mould perfectly. His passing range is impressive, able to ping long balls to switch play or make shorter, more precise passes to link up with the midfield.

His distribution skills are particularly suited to Daniel Farke’s possession-based philosophy, where the likes of Ethan Ampadu, Ao Tanaka, and Joe Rothwell have to play a key role in initiating attacks.

Defensively, Essugo is solid in one-on-one situations and adept at making crucial interceptions. He’s not the type to dive into reckless challenges, preferring to stay on his feet and force attackers into mistakes. His timing in tackles is excellent, and he uses his frame well to outmuscle opponents when necessary.

Capable of operating as a defensive or central midfielder, his stock is continuously rising, and he has also played at every age group for Portugal's youth team, from U-15 all the way through to his current level with the U-21 team. It's easy to see why Leeds are admirers.

Why Leeds are one of many sides interested in Dario Essugo

With Leeds striving to return to the Premier League, there’s a lot of competition for places, especially in midfield areas where they already have established options, but Essugo could be a player for the long-term before eventually knocking on the door for first-team opportunities.

He may have other clubs jumping at the chance to take on a player of his potential. However, if Leeds secure a deal in January, they could bed him in during the next few months. At his age, with his impressive blend of physicality, technical ability, and tactical intelligence, he has all the tools to become a top-level midfielder at some stage.

While there’s still plenty of development ahead, the signs are promising that Essugo could be another success story from Portugal’s conveyor belt of young talent. As per Alan Nixon's report, Leeds previously attempted to sign Essugo in the summer, but Sporting decided that loaning him to La Liga would benefit him more.

Sporting are said to be wanting a permanent fee included in any potential loan arrangement if they are to offload him, however, and the youngster could be worth a fee of around £6 million. However, Farke could be looking at other areas of the pitch to strengthen first rather than his engine room next month, and it could be more of move to revisit in a summer switch instead, with Rothwell's loan ending at that point.

Pound for pound, Leeds probably have the best midfield options in the entire Championship when you weigh everything up, so if they were to try and land Essugo in January, the Portuguese starlet just could not be promised the game time that is paramount for his development. Having said that, his combative style could translate well to English football.