Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring James Garner to Elland Road in the summer transfer window.

What's the talk?

Transfer Focus

That's according to a report by The Sun, who claim that, following an extremely impressive season-long loan at Nottingham Forest, Victor Orta is now keeping a very close eye on the situation of the Manchester United central midfielder ahead of a potential move for the 21-year-old in the summer market.

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The report goes on to state that Leicester City, Everton and Southampton are also interested in the England U21 international, with the youngster's long-term future at Old Trafford looking to be rather uncertain following the appointment of Erik ten Hag as the Red Devils' new manager.

"Absolute beauty"

With the signing of a new central midfielder reported to be one of Leeds' priority targets in the summer transfer window, it is not difficult to understand why Jesse Marsch and Orta would be interested in a deal to bring Garner to LS11 ahead of the Whites' 2022/23 campaign.

Indeed, over his 44 Championship appearances this season, the £6.3m-rated talent was in breathtaking form in the heart of the Forest side, scoring four goals, registering eight assists and creating seven big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.1 shots and making 2.0 key passes per game.

The £20k-per-week midfielder also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.9 tackles, 1.4 interceptions, 1.5 long balls, 34.0 passes and winning 3.9 duels - at a success rate of 53% - per fixture.

These returns saw the 21-year-old who Martin Keown dubbed an "absolutely beauty" and Josh Wright labelled "unreal" average a quite extraordinary WhoScored match rating of 7.09, ranking him as Steve Cooper's fifth-best performer in the second tier - playing a key role in the Reds going on to secure promotion to the Premier League.

As such, it is clear to see that Garner would be an exceptional signing for Orta to get over the line this summer, however, with a number of top-flight clubs interested in the youngster's services, the Spaniard must act fast if Leeds are to have any chance of securing a deal for the midfielder in the coming weeks.

AND in other news: Orta could seal "unbelievable" Leeds signing with bid for £20m talent, he's Walker 2.0