Daniel Farke will be looking towards the upcoming January transfer window as a way to bolster his defensive options, with his Leeds United side plagued by injuries at this moment in time along the back four – Sam Byram, Junior Firpo and Stuart Dallas all sidelined through injury.
It has led to Djed Spence having to fill in playing an unfamiliar left-back role recently and visibly showing signs of struggling, as was seen in Leeds’ unsatisfactory draw with Coventry City yesterday.
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The popular German boss has even had to bump teenage starlet Archie Gray all the way up to the first team fold to make up the numbers, starting him at right-back in Leeds’ last eight Championship matches despite Gray only being baby-faced still at 17 years of age.
Leeds could well target a Premier League youngster to help out in the short-term. Therefore, swooping in to sign Liverpool full-back Conor Bradley on a loan deal this January, who could end up being a major upgrade on another defender in the Whites ranks in a waning Luke Ayling, could be a shrewd move.
Leeds transfer latest
Recent report from TEAMTalk suggested that the Whites are just one of many interested parties trying to land Bradley, however, with Burnley interested from the Premier League alongside fellow second-tier outfits Middlesbrough and West Brom sniffing around.
Bradley’s impressive performances out on loan at Bolton Wanderers in League One last season would have alerted these clubs from higher up the pyramid to his services, whilst the 20-year-old is highly thought of at Anfield also.
Jurgen Klopp even started Bradley in the Europa League last week versus Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, the 20-year-old ace was not at his best but he would still put it down as a worthwhile run-out for his ongoing development.
The young Reds defender’s progression would come on leaps and bounds making the switch to Elland Road arguably, the Whites in dire need of another figure down the flanks which could signal the end of Luke Ayling completely as a reserve option.
How Conor Bradley compares to Luke Ayling
At 32 years of age, Ayling’s best performances in a Leeds shirt are probably behind him.
Only starting eight games this campaign, the loyal Whites servant – who has amassed 267 appearances in total for the West Yorkshire titans – has been unremarkable on the pitch this season.
Whereas, Bradley would be champing at the bit to come in and excel hoping to similarly endear himself to a new fanbase like he managed with the Bolton fans with electric display after electric display.
Bradley was an aggressive ball of energy in a Bolton shirt, picking up 12 yellow cards but also helping himself to five goals and four assists as an expansive full-back.
Even in his prime during the 2019-20 Championship season, Ayling was never able to beat this tally and instead equalled it as an experienced second-tier man – notching up four goals and five assists, never managing to surpass that total in a campaign since.
Moreover, playing in League One, Bradley would create seven big chances under Ian Evatt’s guidance to further prove his usefulness going forward and has time on his side to just get better.
Meanwhile, Ayling has created four ‘big chances’ in his last 43 league games for Leeds since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, which suggests that the Reds youngster would be a big upgrade on him from a creative perspective.
Football pundit Ian Dowie labelled Bradley as “quality” off the back of watching him thrive with the Trotters, waxing lyrical about the Reds youngster when speaking on ViaPlay Sports UK in March.
The 20-year-old dynamo is also in and around the Northern Ireland international team despite still being in the infancy of his fledgling career – winning 10 ground duels against San Marino recently in a standout display during one of his nation’s Euro qualification matches.
Bradley’s obvious pedigree could have Gray worrying about his cemented starting spot under Farke subsequently, who could look to rest the 17-year-old from time to time so as not to overwork him if Bradley was signed.
It feels like a no-brainer from a Leeds perspective to sign the £4.4k per week Bradley – as per Salary Sport – in this upcoming transfer window, giving Leeds another dynamic figure in their team to help the promotion hopefuls hopefully pick up more season-defining wins.
