Leeds United have been dealt a blow in their bid to bring Che Adams to Elland Road this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that, despite Victor Orta being heavily linked with a move for the Southampton centre-forward in recent weeks, it is Nottingham Forest who now appear to be leading the race for the 26-year-old's signature - with Steve Cooper's side believed to have opened talks with Saints regarding a deal for the Scotland international.

The report goes on to state that the Reds are looking to add more firepower to their frontline ahead of the new Premier League season, while Leeds are looking to bring in support for Patrick Bamford up top, with both clubs having identified Adams - for whom Ralph Hasenhuttl's side are reported to be demanding a figure of £10m - as a suitable candidate.

Orta must now act

With the Whites' Premier League opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon now just a little over 48 hours away, and, at present, Orta having yet to add a new out-and-out centre-forward to Jesse Marsch's squad in the summer transfer window, time is very much running out for the Spaniard to seal a deal before the 2022/23 campaign kicks off.

And, with Forest now reportedly in talks with one of Leeds' well-known attacking targets, Orta simply must join the Reds in the race for Adams' signature if he truly does wish to bring the striker to Elland Road in the coming weeks.

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Indeed, while the £16.2m-rated forward would by no means be the Whites' biggest-name signing of the window, the Scot is a Premier League-proven option who would add substantial depth to Marsch's options in attack.

Over his 30 top flight fixtures - only 23 of which came as starts - last season, the £52k-per-week hitman impressed for Saints, scoring seven goals, registering three assists and creating six big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.6 shots, making 0.9 key passes and completing 0.7 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the 26-year-old average a very respectable SofaScore match rating of 6.85 - a rating which, if the forward were playing for Leeds, would have ranked him as Marsch's joint seventh-best player - alongside Kalvin Phillips - in the top flight of England football last time out.

As such, considering the fact that Adams clearly knows how to find the back of the net in the Premier League, in addition to it being reported he would cost an extremely reasonable £10m this summer, Orta simply must launch a move to rival Forest in their pursuit of the Southampton hitman in the coming days - or else the Spaniard could find himself empty handed come the transfer deadline on September 1.