Leeds United are pushing to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League this season after they fell short at the final hurdle last May in the play-off final.
The Whites are currently top of the Championship table and are on course to finish in the top two, but Daniel Farke is looking to bolster his squad during the January transfer window, which officially opened for business last week.
A move for Nottingham Forest centre-back Andrew Omobamidele is in the works, with the club reportedly in talks with the Premier League side to sign the Ireland international.
He is not the only central defender on the West Yorkshire outfit’s radar in the January window, as Leeds are said to be keen on another top-flight ace this month.
Leeds keen on Premier League defender
According to journalist Ben Jacobs, the Whites are keen on a deal to bring Wales international Ben Davies to Elland Road from Tottenham Hotspur ahead of the second half of the season.
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Interestingly, The Athletic reported that Leeds were looking at the former Swansea star as a potential target to bolster their squad in January of last year, before they went on to fail to secure promotion.
Speaking on the Last Word on Spurs podcast, Jacobs said: “With Ben Davies, I think that he will also be gone. And the same for Fraser Foster as well. With Davies, the natural thing is to run down the contract. Leeds United remain interested. So that could be one to watch in the coming weeks.”
Farke and his recruitment team should now push to get a deal over the line for the Spurs ace, who was compared to AC Milan great Paolo Maldini by teammate James Maddison after his performance against Manchester City in November of last year.
Why Leeds should sign Ben Davies
The Whites should swoop for the 31-year-old star because he is an experienced top-flight campaigner who could provide the team with a boost on and off the pitch, whilst also having the quality to play at Premier League level if Leeds achieve promotion.
Both Omobamidele and Davies have struggled for minutes in the division this term but their respective performances in the Premier League last term suggest that the Spurs man would be a better option than the Irishman.
Appearances
17
11
Pass accuracy
91%
87%
Ball recoveries per game
3.1
1.9
Ground duel success rate
68%
57%
Aerial duel success rate
58%
44%
Error led to goal
0
1
As you can see in the table above, the Welsh defender, who can play at left-back or centre-back, significantly outperformed the Irishman whilst playing for a team that was higher up in the table.
The statistics suggest that Davies is a capable Premier League defender who can win the majority of his duels whilst being calm in possession, whereas Omobamidele struggled in the air and made an error that directly led to a goal.
Of course, the Forest youngster is only 22 and would come in as a project player with potential to fulfill, but Leeds could boost their chances of promotion and of achieving survival if they get promoted by signing Davies, who is a superior option in the short-term.
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It is now down to Farke and the club to convince the Tottenham centre-back to drop down to the Championship to join the club’s push to reach the top-flight in the second half of the campaign.