Leeds United are the latest team to be linked with a move for Danilo this month...

What's the word?

That's according to Italian outlet Calciomercato.it, who have linked the Whites with interest in the Palmeiras midfielder along with Premier League rivals Arsenal, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and West Ham United, among many others.

It's thought that the 21-year-old will be allowed to leave Sao Paulo if a €20m (£18m) bid is made.

Meanwhile, the Telegraph recently reported that Nottingham Forest had launched an £18m move to sign him, so if the Whites do hold genuine interest, then they may be running out of time to secure their man.

An instant Klich replacement

Leeds boss Jesse Marsch may be in need of midfield reinforcements after he let Mateusz Klich leave the club earlier this month, with the 32-year-old linking up with Wayne Rooney's D.C. United in the MLS.

Whilst it doesn't leave a massive hole in the engine room, it does leave the American head coach light on options as there is little cover behind the likes of Tyler Adams and Marc Roca, both of whom only just joined in the summer themselves.

Despite his youth, Danilo has already racked up over 140 appearances for the Brazilian outfit, where he has scored 12 goals and laid on nine assists, primarily as a defensive midfielder, via Transfermarkt.

His industrious nature could make him a surefire successor to the departed Klich as across 34 top-flight games last season, he averaged 3.9 duels won, 2.1 tackles and 0.8 key passes per game, via Sofascore.

The Poland ace played a similar number of games for the Yorkshire giants last season (2021/22) and he returned an average of 2.7 duels won, 1.4 tackles per and 0.9 key passes per game, so there are certainly some similarities to take between the two, making the young Periquito Verde gem a wise target indeed.

Danilo has been lauded as a "modern defensive midfielder" that can also play a box-to-box role by talent scout Jacek Kulig, who further described him as "fast and athletic" as well as being a "tireless runner" and a "tenacious tackler," all of which bode well for his chances of filling that gap in Marsch's squad.

As such, director of football Victor Orta must look to pounce on Danilo before it's too late. If they can get ahead of Forest in the race for his signature, then the Whites would be getting a real midfield star of the future, given the evidence above.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Rutter: Orta could form "clinical" Leeds duo by signing £22m "protege"...