With a total of 24 players, Leeds United have one of the smallest squads in the Premier League.

They remarkably went through the previous January transfer window without adding any new players to their squad and thus, newly appointed manager Jesse Marsch will have to work with the players currently at Elland Road to make sure the club don't fall back into the Championship by the end of the campaign.

Looking at their squad as it stands, one area the Whites are quite short in regarding depth is central-midfield, with the likes of Mateusz Klich, Adam Forshaw and Jamie Shackleton being the only figures that predominantly play in that role alongside Kalvin Phillips in a more defensive position.

Combine that with the fact that Leeds have conceded a total of 46 Premier League goals in the games that Phillips has missed through injury this season, it would make sense for the Yorkshire club to try and strengthen that area of their squad during the next summer transfer window.

One figure that could potentially be seen as their next version of the England international is Manchester United midfielder James Garner, who has been linked with a move to Elland Road recently.

As a young, English defensive-midfielder that has worked his way through the academy of a big club, this mirrors the same sort of journey that Phillips started his career on.

In addition to that, Leeds could very much benefit from the 20-year-old's defensive talents, as he's been able to rack up a total of 32 tackles for his current loan club Nottingham Forest this season, the fourth-highest of any player in Steve Cooper's side.

This is similar to the current Whites midfield star, who also has the fourth-highest number of tackles won (27) this season out of any of his teammates at Elland Road.

Labelled as an "exceptional" player by Paul Robinson, Garner, who is currently valued at £3.6m according to Transfermarkt, could be the ideal candidate for Marsch to add some much-needed depth to his midfield for the foreseeable future.

Also, with the 26-year-old being previously linked with a move to other clubs in the Premier League, it could be in the Yorkshire club's best interest to bring in a potential replacement for Phillips should he ever be tempted with a move elsewhere.

In other news: Forget Roberts: Marsch can save Leeds by unleashing "outrageous" £2.7m-rated "saviour" - opinion