Leeds United will be ramping up work on potential transfer targets behind-the-scenes with the January window just a couple of weeks away from opening.
Daniel Farke wants a quiet January at Leeds but it would be negligent by the club not to strengthen next month considering the position they are in.
Leeds currently sit second in the Championship, but those around them including Sheffield United and Burnley look set to add to their squad.
Sheffield United’s imminent takeover in particular could give them a real helping hand in January, which is a slight worrying considering they are top of the table, having also been deducted two points.
Goalkeeper, number 10 and striker have been Leeds’ weakest positions during the first half of the campaign.
Leeds eye Ben Godfrey, but deal may have to wait until summer
One position Leeds do look pretty well stocked in is defence, though that could change if Max Wober leaves, amid links to former club Red Bull Salzburg.
However, Farke has continued to speak highly of Wober throughout the season and the last few weeks have seen his involvement in the side increase.
One defender Leeds are interested in, and have been for a while, is Atalanta’s Ben Godfrey, with transfer expert Graeme Bailey exclusively telling LeedsUnited.News he is a player the club like.
According to Bailey, though, there are some major stumbling blocks to a deal in January, the main one being he doesn’t want to leave a side sat top of Serie A, despite his lack of game time.
Instead, Bailey says any potential deal involving Leeds and Godfrey will have to wait until the summer, and will also depend on promotion.
He said: “Godfrey is someone Leeds have liked for a long time. It is totally dependent on Leeds getting back to the Premier League. The player has interest in January, but from what I’m told he’s not massively looking to move.
“Everyone thinks, oh well he’s not getting game time at Atalanta. But they don’t actually realise that Atalanta are top of the league, the only reason he’s not in is because they’re playing so well.
“It’s not as if they don’t like him, they are literally just top of Serie A. British media misreading that personally, Leeds like him but are only in the conversation if they go up.”
Leeds wanted Godfrey in January earlier this year
Godfrey only made the move to Italy in the summer having seemingly been on his way out at Everton for several months.
Leeds wanted Godfrey on loan in January to provide extra competition in central defence and at right-back. At one stage, a deal looked possible.
However, Sean Dyche instead opted to give Godfrey a run in the side during the second half of the season, which put an end to Leeds’ hopes of signing him.
That spell in the team did tempt Atalanta into signing Godfrey for £10m back in the summer, though he has only played 22 minutes of league football this season, all of which came on the opening day.
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