Leeds United are eyeing a swift return to the Premier League next season and an impressive run of results in the last few weeks has seen them surge up to fourth place in the Championship.
The Whites are only two points behind second-place Ipswich Town and can’t be faulted for dreaming of an automatic qualification spot.
It seems like Leeds are now looking to strengthen their squad with a new defensive signing to improve their backline.
They were recently linked with having an interest in signing Japan defender Daiki Hashioka, but it doesn’t seem like that will pan out at all.
That is because Luton Town have been reported to have struck an agreement to sign the right-back from Belgian side Sint-Truiden.
However, it has now been claimed by the Daily Mail that the reason behind Leeds abandoned the decision to sign Hashioka is because a ankle injury suffered by the Japanese defender in December caused them to develop concerns.
Daiki sustained an ankle injury that forced him to miss just one game last month, but that made the Whites hesitant over whether or not to sign him before Luton ended up agreeing a deal with Sint-Truiden instead.
As a result, they opted to move away from him and focus on signing someone else to fulfil their needs to strengthen the right-back position.
It now seems that they are eyeing someone with Premier League experience to help them get back up to the pinnacle of English football.
According to The Sun, Leeds United have submitted a new proposal to sign Everton defender Ben Godfrey on loan until the end of the 2023/24 season.
This comes after their first bid was reportedly rejected by the Toffees, forcing them to come back with a second offer.
The 26-year-old has fallen out of favour at Merseyside and only made three appearances for Sean Dyche’s side, with the gaffer ready to let him go before the end of the winter window.
Leeds are now pushing to get an agreement over the line before the window closes on February 1. There could be a potential option to buy clause inserted into any loan agreement to get it over the line, given that Everton almost reportedly agreed a £10 million deal to sell Godfrey to Serie A side Atalanta recently.
Godfrey is not actually a natural right-back, but a centre-back by trade who can also play in the wide areas if needed. That can definitely help improve the depth in Daniel Farke’s backline and give them a combative defender to help them churn out more clean sheets.
With that being said, Leeds United will have to hurry to get any transfer agreement finalized with only a few days remaining in the winter window.
