An update has emerged on Leeds United and their interest in signing Pape Gueye ahead of the January transfer window...

What's the talk?

According to Jeunes Footeux, the Whites are one of the clubs eyeing a swoop to sign the Marseille gem as Victor Orta plots potential moves to improve the squad at the start of 2023.

The report claims that several, unnamed, European teams and fellow Premier League side Southampton are also interested in a deal for the 23-year-old.

It is stated that Leeds and the Saints are keen on signing him on loan for the second half of the 2022/23 campaign with an option to sign him permanently next summer.

Imagine him and Tyler Adams

Marc Roca and Tyler Adams have been superb additions to Leeds' midfield as they have formed an instant partnership in the Premier League, with both players currently sitting in the top four performers for the club on average SofaScore ratings.

However, they do not have much competition for their places as Adam Forshaw and Mateusz Klich rank 19th and 18th in the squad respectively when it comes to average ratings. This suggests that they are not piling the pressure on the current first-choice options and that there would be a big drop off in quality if Adams or Roca picked up an injury or suspension.

Therefore, Leeds should bring in Gueye as he could provide excellent competition. Klich and Forshaw have averaged ratings of 5.55 and 5.53 respectively in the Premier League, whilst the Marseille enforcer has averaged a score of 6.75 or higher in each of the last three Ligue 1 seasons.

Migouel Alfarela, a former teammate of the midfielder's, previously hailed the gem by saying:

"We both exchange regularly. When I left HAC, he hardly played in the first team but it showed that he had something extra and that he was going to succeed."

Meanwhile, journalist Josh Bunting has previously described him as being "fantastic" at breaking up play and his statistics in Ligue 1 last season back that up.

He made 2.3 tackles and interceptions per game whilst winning 56% of his individual duels, including 62% in the air, and this shows that he was consistently winning the ball back for his side and won the majority of his battles in the middle of the park.

Adams, meanwhile, has won 55% of his duels and made 5.4 tackles and interceptions per match in the Premier League for Leeds.

This shows that both players have a similar level of efficiency but the Whites machine is more active in engaging in duels, which is something Jesse Marsch could push Gueye to match in his system.

Now, imagine the Senegal international coming in to replace Roca, due to injury or suspension, and being a rock in midfield next to Adams instead of the underperforming Klich and Forshaw struggling in the middle of the park.