Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring Nathan Collins to Elland Road in the summer transfer window.
What’s the talk?
That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claimed that a recruitment source has revealed that Victor Orta is looking to add a new centre-back to Jesse Marsch’s first-team squad this summer, with the Whites’ sporting director believed to identified the 21-year-old Burnley defender as a target.
The report added that Newcastle United are also keeping an eye on the situation of the Republic of Ireland international, while further reports suggest that Collins is likely to have a relegation release clause written into his contract at Turf Moor, which will theoretically make a deal easier for Orta to get over the line.
Ian Harte 2.0
Considering the sheer amount of potential that Collins – who joined Burnley in a £12m deal only last year – quite clearly possesses, it is not difficult to understand why Orta would be interested in a move for the 21-year-old this summer.
Indeed, over his 19 Premier League appearances in 2021/22, the £7.2m-rated talent was imperious in the heart of the Clarets’ backline, helping his side to keep five clean sheets, in addition to making 1.3 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and 4.3 clearances and winning 5.8 duels (at a success rate of 63%) per game.
Do you think Collins would be a good signing for Leeds?
The £10k-per-week defender also impressed going forwards, scoring two goals and creating three big chances for his team-mates, as well as taking 0.8 shots and making 0.3 key passes per match.
These returns saw the player who James Tarkowski dubbed “exceptional” average a very impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.08, ranking him as Burnley’s second-best player in the top flight.
Furthermore, according to FBRef data, Collins also ranks in the top 12% of centre-backs in Europe’s big five leagues for non-penalty goals per 90, as well as the top 8% for npxG, the top 12% for shots, the top 6% for xA, the top 3% for npxG+xA, the top 8% for shot-creating actions and the top 1% for touches in the opposition penalty area over the last 365 days.
As such, should Orta indeed manage to get a deal over the line for the Irish defender with a clear eye for goal this summer, the Spaniard could well have unearthed Leeds’ next Ian Harte, the Irish left-back who scored 37 goals and registered 15 assists over his 280 appearances for the Whites. That is sure to be an incredibly exciting prospect for the Elland Road faithful.
AND in other news: Orta can unearth his next £60m talent as Leeds now plot bid for “unbelievable” target
