Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring Charlie Taylor back to Elland Road this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to Alan Nixon, with The Sun journalist revealing in a recent post on his Patreon that Burnley are now willing to allow the 28-year-old left-back to move onto pastures new prior to September's transfer deadline, with Victor Orta thought to be considering a bid to bring the former Leeds defender back to LS11.

The Whites are reported to be in the market for a new left-sided full-back in the summer transfer window, with Jesse Marsch thought to be keen on a move for Philadelphia Union's Kai Wagner, however, following the latest developments concerning the situation of Taylor, the former England U19 international now could be in line for a return to Leeds.

Firpo upgrade

Considering just how much Firpo looked to struggle with the pace of the Premier League following his £12.8m move to Leeds last summer, coupled with the former Barcelona defender appearing to be rather injury prone, the argument that Taylor would represent an upgrade upon the 25-year-old is an easy one to make.

Indeed, over Firpo's 24 top flight outings in 2021/22, the £10.8m-rated full-back failed to impress, helping his side keep one clean sheet. From a personal point of view, he registered two assists and created three big chances for his teammates, in addition to making an average of one interception, 2.5 tackles, 1.3 clearances and winning 4.9 duels - at a success rate of 53% - per game.

These returns saw the £55k-per-week player who Paul Robinson dubbed "inexcusable" average an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.60, ranking him as Marsch's seventh-worst performer in the league last time out.

In comparison, over Taylor's 31 Premier League appearances last season, the £2.7m-rated left-back helped his team keep five clean sheets, registered three assists and created four big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.9 interceptions, 1.5 tackles, 2.3 clearances and winning 5.6 duels - at a success rate of 62% - per fixture.

These metrics saw the York-born talent who former Leeds manager Steve Evans dubbed an "outstanding talent" average an impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.85, ranking him as Burnley's 10th-best player in the league last term - a quite remarkable feat for a defender playing for a side who suffered relegation.

As such, should the £47k-per-week Taylor indeed be available to sign in the coming weeks, a move for the 28-year-old would appear an extremely wise one for Orta to make, as it is clear the Clarets' full-back would represent a significant upgrade upon Firpo on the left of Marsch's backline.