Forget Sunderland star: Leeds United need these three realistic January moves instead

Leeds United have been linked with a move to sign Sunderland left-back Dennis Cirkin, but a January swoop is wildly unrealistic, even if the Whites are set to be active.

Daniel Farke’s Leeds side are going to come out of the current international break eager to get back into the driving seat for automatic promotion, currently two points outside the top two.

Transfers in January are likely to be something of a focus behind the scenes as we speak, and Leeds have a few priorities that aren’t being talked about amidst current transfer rumours.

Leeds ‘want’ Sunderland’s Dennis Cirkin

It would be hard to look at Sunderland’s vibrant young side and not be envious of some of the talent they boast from front to back.

Therefore, it’s no shock that the Mirror recently reported of Leeds’ interest in signing left-back Dennis Cirkin.

The Black Cats being in the thick of a promotion race with Leeds makes the signing of their star full-back something of an insulting topic of discussion, and one the Elland Road club surely won’t even consider at the moment – especially with a healthy full-back contingent to choose from.

Instead, we look at three positions Leeds need to focus on and three realistic players that they could sign to resolve them.

Number 10: James McAtee – Manchester City

The absolute standout position Leeds need to be looking at a signing for is the ‘number 10’ role, which doesn’t necessarily have to be a player to occupy central positions behind the striker.

Pablo Hernandez was Leeds’ ’10’ figure, but often drifted out wide on either wing, and that sort of profile needs filling, where Manchester City’s James McAtee represents a solid option.

Again, he had been a core part of pre-season plans under Pep Guardiola before the Spaniard fast became tired of utilising him in a games, starting just twice this season – both in the EFL Cup.

Centre-back: Michal Helik – Huddersfield Town

A more rogue choice next in the form of a centre-back that is likely to be more content with taking a backseat more often than not.

Polish centre-back Michal Helik has plenty of Championship experience, now in League One with Huddersfield Town – who look a long way off challenging for automatic promotion as things stand.

The issues Leeds had last season caught up with them, and it stemmed from having Ethan Ampadu forced to drop into the back four to cover Pascal Struijk, so having adequate centre-back cover might be crucial.

In Helik, Leeds would have someone comfortable defending their box, at least in the limited amount he’d have to at Elland Road, but more importantly, would be signing one of the best set-piece threats you can find.

He bagged nine goals last season, with two coming against Leeds – only a handful of players scored two or more times versus the Whites last season and the 29-year-old was one of them, one coming from a set piece and the other a second phase that he stayed high up for.

Striker: Evan Ferguson – Brighton

Injury has scuppered his progress a lot and he broke a very long drought in front of goal only recently, suggesting that perhaps the best path for him in 2025 is getting back to playing regularly.

He’s not going to start often under Fabian Hurzeler with Danny Welbeck in the goalscoring form of his life and Joao Pedro back to fitness, plus other serious attacking quality such as Georgi Rutter and others.