Leeds United have wasted no time in adding their first new signing of the January transfer window, securing Max Wober in an £11m deal.

It marked yet another example of Jesse Marsch returning to his old club Red Bull Salzburg for a new player, joining a list including Rasmus Kristensen and Brendan Aaronson.

Defence is clearly a position of maximum priority for the American and Leeds' director of football Victor Orta, given how this season the Whites have conceded 31 goals in just 17 games in the Premier League this season.

That could explain the additional rumours linking them with left-back reinforcements too, as the underwhelming Junior Firpo has seemingly been deemed surplus to requirements.

One such link which persists is to Kai Wagner, who has excelled for Philadelphia Union in the MLS and was reportedly available in the summer for just $3m (£2.5m)

This move could have been made even more attractive given the acquisition of the Austrian centre-back, who should only add further defensive security.

It could therefore offer more offensive freedom to Wagner, should Leeds' reported interest materialise into a transfer.

The 25-year-old enjoyed a fine season last year for his club as he added nine assists to add to his impressive career tally thus far.

Five goals and 31 assists for a defender of that age marks a fine return, and to pair it with match averages of 1.7 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and 1.6 clearances (via Sofascore) suggests that he could be the perfect modern-day full-back.

This unsurprisingly led to an average rating of 7.48, and he arguably should have recorded even more assists than his final tally. From his nine assists, he created a subsequent 14 big chances.

To pair this with the 7.28 rating of Wober, who himself has averaged 2.1 clearances and 1.7 tackles per game (via Sofascore), could be a masterstroke.

Described as a “cheat code” by journalist Chuck Booth, such are his offensive talents, the German could pair up perfectly with Leeds' new signing to help the Whites to Premier League safety.

Defensive security is what is needed at Elland Road, but to gain that and add massive creativity in Wagner makes this prospective deal a no-brainer for Orta and co.