According to reports on HITC, Newcastle United could reignite their interest in Hamburg midfielder Lewis Holtby after he was left out of their squad for the win against Stuttgart on Saturday.

ESPN FC reported in June of this year that the Magpies were keen to bring the former Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham man back to the Premier League, but a move never materialised.

While the 27-year-old was a regular for the Bundesliga outfit earlier in the campaign he has found first-team opportunities harder to come by in recent weeks, and with his contract due to run out next summer the latest blow of missing out on the 18-man squad suggests he is definitely on his way.

Meanwhile, after a fine start to their Championship campaign Leeds United have hit a real poor run of form – losing seven of their last nine league games – and manager Thomas Christiansen could be looking to add to his squad during the January transfer window to ensure their promotion bid doesn't falter for the second successive season.

Here are three reasons Leeds should hijack Newcastle's interest in Holtby…

Attacking midfield competition

While summer signing Samu Saiz has probably been Leeds' standout player so far this season, the likes of Pablo Hernandez, Kemar Roofe and Ezgjan Alioski haven't really done enough in the attacking midfield positions.

It seems clear that more competition and quality is needed in those areas if the Whites are to turn their season around and challenge for promotion, and the versatile Holtby would certainly bring that as he can play on either flank or as a number 10.

Prime/Potential

At 27 years of age, Holtby should be in or approaching the peak years of his football career and if Leeds could sign him at this stage of his career then it could prove to be quite the coup for the Championship club.

With Premier League experience with Tottenham and Fulham – albeit he struggled to make an impression with the former in particular – the three-capped Germany international would also be ready to make the step up to the English top flight at the end of the season if the Yorkshire outfit do finally make a return there after a 14-year absence.

Transfer fee

With Holtby's contract due to expire at the end of the season and with little sign that the 27-year-old will sign a new one with the Bundesliga outfit, an exit seems highly likely either in January or next summer.

The midfielder will be able to sign a pre-contract agreement with clubs in the New Year if that is the path that he wants to go down and if a team wants to sign him for free, but a cut-price fee may also be enough to get him for the second-half of the current campaign.

That is an option that could be tempting for Leeds as they look to mount a promotion push, and they have plenty of money left in the bank following the big-money sale of Chris Wood to Burnley during the summer.

Do you agree, Leeds fans? Let us know below.