An update has emerged on Leeds United and their plans to strengthen Daniel Farke's defensive options before the end of the summer transfer window…
What's the latest Leeds transfer news?
The Whites recently completed the signing of central defender Joe Rodon on a season-long loan deal from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, but that will not be the end of their business in that area of the pitch.
According to Football Insider, the west Yorkshire outfit will attempt to sign another centre-back to bolster their backline before deadline day on September 1st, and have identified both Liverpool's Nat Phillips and Manchester City's Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
Read the latest Leeds transfer news HERE…
The report claims that both players would cost 'big-money' fees to snap up from their respective top-flight clubs, although it does not state exactly how much.
However, LeedsLive claimed earlier this month that the Citizens would demand £15m for the England U21 international and that a loan could be an option if no teams are willing to match that figure.
How good is Taylor Harwood-Bellis?
The 21-year-old ace won the Championship title on loan at Burnley last season and would arrive as a proven performer at this level who could be a big upgrade on Pascal Struijk, who has started the first two league games this term.
Farke could improve his defence in a swoop for the English titan as his performances throughout the 2022/23 campaign and over the summer at the U21 European Championship suggest that he would be a fantastic player for the Whites.
Harwood-Bellis averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.21 across 32 league outings for the Clarets last term and won 63% of his individual duels, whilst he also went through the season without making a single error leading to a shot, goal, or penalty for the opposition.
He also enjoyed a phenomenal U21 tournament with England as they won the competition without conceding a single goal. The talented colossus helped his team to keep a clean sheet in all five of his appearances and averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.26 to go along with a ground duel success rate of 86%.
Struijk, meanwhile, averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.75 over 29 Premier League games, whilst no Whites player recorded a score higher than 7.00. The Dutchman did win 59% of his battles but also made one error leading directly to a goal and gave away two penalties.
This suggests that Harwood-Bellis would be less of a liability at the back for Leeds as he is not as prone to making crucial errors in his own third.
The Man City youngster could also be an upgrade on Struijk in terms of what he is able to do in possession.
He has averaged 5.73 progressive passes per 90 and completed 85.4% of his attempted passes over the last 365 days, whereas the Whites dud has a pass completion rate of 79.5% and made 4.91 progressive passes per 90 in that time.
This could improve the effectiveness of Leeds' build-up play out from the back as the 6 foot 2 brute progresses the ball more frequently with greater efficiency than Farke's current central defensive option.
Therefore, Harwood-Bellis, who was once described as the "real deal" by scout Jacek Kulig, would come in as a big upgrade on Struijk for the German head coach and could hit the ground running based on his excellent displays for Burnley at this level last season.
