Leeds United remain in with a chance of bringing Cody Gakpo to Elland Road in the summer transfer window.
What's the talk?
That's according to a report by Dutch media outlet ED, who suggest that, with both Leeds and Nottingham Forest are keeping a very close eye on the situation of the PSV Eindhoven winger ahead of launching a potential move, the Premier League duo could still have a chance to seal a £35m deal for the 23-year-old in the coming weeks.
The report goes on to state that, should PSV fail in their attempts to qualify for the Champions League - with the Eredivisie side set to face Glasgow Rangers in a play-off for a spot in the group stage of the competition after defeating AS Monaco 4-3 on aggregate in the third qualifying round - the Netherlands international is more likely to leave the club this summer.
An "enormous" coup
Considering just how impressive Gakpo was for PSV last season, in addition to the fact that the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool have all been linked with a move for the 23-year-old this summer, should Orta manage to get a deal over the line for the Dutch attacker, it would certainly be an enormous coup for the Whites.
Indeed, over his 27 Eredivisie appearances in 2021/22, the £27m-rated forward was in breathtaking form for Roger Schmidt's side, scoring 12 goals, providing 13 assists and creating 11 big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 3.0 shots, making 2.6 key passes and completing 2.9 dribbles per game.
For context, all of those statistics would top the tree at Leeds, with the recently departed Raphinha managing 2.5 shots, 1.9 key passes and 1.8 dribbles per match, numbers that eclipsed everyone else at Elland Road in 2021/22.
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The above returns saw the £7.4k-per-week Gakpo average a simply sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.51, not only ranking him as PSV's best performer in the league but also as the fourth-best player in the division as a whole.
The seven-cap international also caught the eye over his four Europa League outings last time out, scoring two goals and creating two big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 3.0 shots, making 2.8 key passes and completing four dribbles per fixture.
These metrics saw the player who Ryan Haber dubbed "unpredictable" and Wierd Duk labelled an "enormous talent" average a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.47, ranking him as the fourth-best player to feature in the tournament.
Gakpo once again impressed over his five Europa Conference League outings in 2021/22, bagging three goals, registering one assist and creating one big chance, as well as taking an average of 2.2 shots, making 1.6 key passes and completing 2.8 dribbles per game.
These returns saw the 23-year-old once again earn an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.42, ranking him as the joint 10th-best performer in the competition.
As such, with Gakpo quite clearly being an extremely consistent goalscorer and creator in the final third, as well as being a forward who boasts an eye for a defence-splitting pass and a player who loves to run with the ball at his feet, it is not difficult to understand why Orta would be interested in a deal to bring the 23-year-old to Elland Road this summer. Boasting better stats than even that of the effervescent Raphinha, it's clear the signing of the Dutchman would very much look to be an enormous coup for Jesse Marsch's side.
Indeed, with it being well-documented that the Spaniard is looking for further attacking additions prior to the closure of the summer transfer window, the PSV star would certainly be a huge weapon in the Whites' arsenal in the 2022/23 campaign.