Bournemouth transfer target 'walked out of medical with Leeds' to join Cherries

Daniel Farke was expecting to be reunited with Norwich star Max Aarons but the right-back suddenly opted to leave his Leeds United medical in favour of a Bournemouth transfer

Norwich City defender Max Aarons “walked out” of his Leeds United medical to complete a move to Bournemouth.

Leeds were convinced they were signing the 23-year-old as he made his way to Yorkshire on Wednesday to undergo a medical. They had even booked a hotel for the right-back in the hope of sealing his transfer to Elland Road.

But Aarons made a stunning U-turn by suddenly making the trip down from Leeds to the south coast. Both the Cherries’ hijacking of the deal and the full-back’s change of heart are reported to have left Leeds manager Daniel Farke shocked.

Aarons’ move to Bournemouth is expected to be confirmed on Thursday in a deal worth £7million, rising to £11m.

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The former Canaries youngster was expected to be Leeds’ second big acquisition on Wednesday following Joe Rodon’s loan move from Tottenham. But a reunion with his former Norwich manager Farke, under whom he won two Championships, was not enough to convince him to go through with the move.

Football Insider's Pete O'Rourke tweeted: "Norwich defender Max Aarons walked out of a medical at Leeds to head to Bournemouth and is set to seal his move to the Vitality Stadium in the next 24 hours."

It is understood the allure of playing in the Premier League once again swayed Aarons’ decision in favour of Bournemouth, who finished 15th in the top flight last season. Meanwhile, a dismal campaign for Leeds meant they ended the season in 19th and were relegated to the Championship once more.

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Aarons was left out of Norwich’s opening game of the new Championship season - a 2-1 win over Hull - after returning to pre-season training late. That was due to his involvement in the summer’s European Championship victory with England’s Under-21s.

He has been capped 27-times while making 213 appearances for Norwich since his debut in 2018. Of those, 70 came in the Premier League as the Canaries suffered consecutive top flight relegations.