Leeds United could secure Jesse Marsch his next Erling Haaland in Dion Drena Beljo, who has revealed his surprise interest in the club...

What's the word?

The young NK Osijek forward, 20, has caught the eye of multiple teams across Europe (via Sport Witness) and in a recent interview with Sky Sports Germany, he namedropped the Yorkshire giants as a team he admires.

Manchester United and Newcastle United were the two other Premier League teams mentioned by the Croatian striker, whilst West Ham United were linked in the summer, as per the report.

The fact that he's fond of the Whites is certainly positive, should director of football Victor Orta look to sign him in the future.

Marsch's next Haaland?

And with the American - the former manager of RB Salzburg - at the helm, we could well see the next Haaland at Elland Road. During his time at the Austrian champions, the club signed the Norweigen colossus from Molde and the pair guided the side to the league and cup double in 2019/20.

Across 22 appearances, Haaland bagged 28 goals and laid on seven assists, quickly earning a move to Borussia Dortmund before going on to sign for Manchester City in the summer.

Just like Beljo, the 22-year-old's admiration for Leeds has been made very public and given that Marsch would be signing a relatively unknown striker from one of Europe's smaller divisions, there could be plenty of similarities made between the two - something that talent scout Jacek Kulig has even noted.

In the Osijek forward, the American coach could well discover the next big thing. Despite playing for the third-ranked team in Croatia, the 20-year-old has been in electric form, scoring nine goals and assisting two more across 19 appearances in all competitions this term, via Transfermarkt.

Last season, meanwhile, Beljo netted 20 goals in 37 appearances for NK Istra 1961, so he is clearly a proven goalscorer, even if it's only been in his native country thus far.

Standing at a whopping 6 foot 5, further likeness to Haaland could be drawn, with Kulig also describing the Croatia U21 titan as a "tall, strong, fast, and prolific left-footed CF" on Twitter only last month.

With reports suggesting that he's available for just €6m (£5m), Orta could do little wrong in signing a young frontman with bags of potential and with Marsch aiding his development, Leeds could well sign the next Haaland with a move for Beljo.

AND in other news, Marsch could finally send James packing with Leeds swoop for "pacey" £8.5m "trickster"...