Although Leeds United's promotion push is on hold for the foreseeable future, the club appears to be preparing for the long-run, that's if fresh reports are to be believed.

According to Le Quotidien du Foot, the west Yorkshire outfit are interested in signing Metz forward Habib Diallo this summer but could face stern competition from the likes of Chelsea, Leicester City and Crystal Palace.

It's claimed that he is likely to cost €20m (£17.8m) as he still has a little over two years remaining on his current contract.

In the past, Diallo has also been linked to Tottenham Hotspur as well as Lyon, so Leeds are in quite good company if they are to contest for his signature.

And the 24-year-old has been in prolific form this campaign, which makes for an interesting case over whether or not Marcelo Bielsa should try and land him.

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Metz are languishing down in 15th in their first season back in Ligue 1 and hold a healthy seven-point cushion to the relegation spots, and key to their fortunes has been the 6 foot 1 talisman - especially as he's been named captain on frequent occasions.

Despite playing in a lowly team, Diallo has still found the net 12 times in 26 top-flight matches, via Transfermarkt, which is a better strike rate than Patrick Bamford's 13 goals in 36 games in the Championship.

The 24-year-old has important strikes against the likes of Saint-Etienne and Monaco, two teams that have tasted European football in recent times, so it shows he can compete amongst the big boys.

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Diallo (2.9) also scores with fewer shots at goal than Bamford (3.4) and is averaging more key passes (0.9), dribbles (0.8) and aerial duels won (4.3) per game too, via WhoScored.

At just £17.8m, the Senegalese international would be an absolute snip should Leeds indeed go up, especially as he's outperforming Bielsa's current first-choice in so many areas.

AND in other news, Leeds fans on free transfer target...