Leeds United have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Alberth Elis.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by L'Equipe (via Leeds Live), who claim that Girondins Bordeaux are targeting the signing of a new centre-forward in the January transfer window, as the Ligue 2 side are predicting the departure of the 26-year-old hitman this winter.

Leeds Live go on to state that, after Victor Orta was linked with a move for the Honduras international in the summer, should the director of football remain keen on a move for the San Pedro Sula-born striker upon the turn of the year, now would be the time to move for the €10m (£8.7m) forward.

Bamford replacement

While it is true that Elis has not exactly been at his scintillating best in the French second tier so far this season - scoring one goal over 12 league fixtures in 2022/23 - considering just how impressive the 26-year-old was last time out, it is not difficult to understand why Orta would be keen on a move for the centre-forward in January.

Indeed, over his 20 Ligue 1 appearances last season - only 16 of which came as starts - the £3.7m-rated talent was in deadly form, bagging nine goals - an average of 0.5 per game - registering one assist and creating one big chance for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 1.6 shots, making 0.8 key passes and completing 0.8 dribbles per fixture.

These returns saw the £3.3k-per-week attacker average a very respectable SofaScore match rating of 6.72, ranking him as Les Girondins' joint 15th-best performer in the top flight of French football - an impressive feat for a striker playing for a side that ended the season at the foot of the Ligue 1 table.

As such, with the player who Emilio Izaguirre dubbed "very fast" clearly knowing how to find the back of the net while playing for a side struggling at the wrong end of the table, it is easy to see why Orta could be tempted to move for the 53-cap star in January, especially considering Patrick Bamford's continuing injury setbacks.

Indeed, the 29-year-old missed the AFC Bournemouth, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur fixtures after picking up yet another knock during training, meaning that, when Leeds return to action against Manchester City on December 28, the striker will have gone a calendar year without scoring and nearly 18 months without completing a full 90 minutes.

So, while Rodrigo has started to step up in terms of goals in recent months - with the Spaniard having bagged nine in the league so far this season - a new out-and-out number nine would appear very much needed at Elland Road, with Elis potentially offering Orta a deadly and cost-effective solution to one of Leeds' biggest problems at present.