MARKViduka sent his transfer value soaring to £20m by plundering his 18th Leeds goal of the season only to be denied the winner against Italian giants Lazio by a last-gasp free-kick special from Sinisa Mihajlovic.

Viduka is understood to be a wanted man, with Roma ready to offer £16m for the Australian international this summer as they look for a new frontline partner for Gabriel Batistuta.

Roma coach Fabio Capello, whose side are poised to wrest the Serie A Scudetto from their cross-city rivals this season, is a known admirer of Viduka and his powerhouse performances.

Capello has been impressed with Viduka since watching him set up Alan Smith for the winning goal against Lazio in the Olympic Stadium in early December.

It was a goal which sparked Leeds' drive for qualification to the quarter-finals and ultimately hastened Sven-Goran Eriksson's departure from the Eternal City and into his role as England coach.

Any bid from Roma will test the resolve of manager David O'Leary and chairman Peter Ridsdale, particularly as they could potentially make a £10m profit on Viduka.

For the 25-year-old his 62nd minute strike in connecting with an Ian Harte free-kick was his fourth goal in five matches, all of them headers, but it was Yugoslav international Mihajlovic who had the last word in Leeds' ultimately successful Group D campaign.

For O'Leary the result ensured his team signed off the group stages with the flourish he demanded, even if it was more a case of Leeds reserves against Lazio reserves.

Leeds started the game knowing they will avoid both Manchester United and Arsenal in Friday's quarter-final draw, but perhaps more significantly Turkish champions and UEFA Cup holders Galatasaray.

Valencia, Deportivo La Coruna or Bayern Munich await Leeds in the last eight, with O'Leary and his now experienced European squad afraid of no-one having sent the likes of Barcelona and Lazio out of the competition.

This was O'Leary's 26th European game in charge of Leeds in the last two years, with the sides producing an entertaining goal feast.

O'Leary made seven changes to the side which started last week's 3-2 defeat against Real Madrid, and among the surprises were Alan Maybury playing in his first senior match for three years. There was no Rio Ferdinand, Olivier Dacourt, Eirik Bakke and Alan Smith among the 16.

Danny Mills returned from his suspension, while Lee Bowyer also played despite having spent the last three days in the witness box at Hull Crown Court where he is on trial with Jonathan Woodgate, who was named among the substitutes.

Lazio's line-up was also lightweight, with coach Dino Zoff having left Juan Sebastian Veron, Simone Inzaghi, Diego Simeone, Alessandro Nesta, Giuseppe Favalli, Angelo Peruzzi and Guerino Gottardi in Rome.

The reigning Italian champions included a familiar face in former Middlesbrough star Fabrizio Ravanelli, and back on English soil, it was Ravanelli who struck the first blow in the 21st minute as he was left unmarked in the six-yard box, which allowed him to comfortably head home Nedved's cross .

But six minutes later Leeds were level, with Bowyer joining the top scorers in the competition on six goals. United's joy, however, was shortlived as within a minute Austrian referee Konrad Plautz awarded Lazio a penalty with Mihajlovic making no mistake from the spot.

Jason Wilcox made it 2-2, and Viduka then put Leeds in front for the first time.

But in the third minute of injury time Mihajlovic struck a stunning free-kick after Wilcox had fouled Nedved, which ensured the game ended all-square.