Leeds United's priorities this transfer window have always come back to a focus on recruiting new defenders, with Daniel Farke's men now leaving it extremely late to recruit new bodies to bolster the back four at Elland Road.
Yet, the Championship promotion candidates could well strike gold if they can land this last-gasp deal to significantly improve their options at centre-back in West Yorkshire.
Leeds' hunt for a new centre-back
An exclusive from football journalist Pete O'Rourke writing for Football Insider this morning indicates that Leeds are "in the hunt" for a Deadline Day swoop for Leicester City defender Harry Souttar, although the Whites might well not be alone in wanting to capture the Austrailan centre-back today.
A previous report yesterday from Football Insider also stated that Chris Wilder's Sheffield United were keen on landing the authoritative Foxes man, but a further development from Sheffield Star journalist Danny Hall today states that a deal involving Souttar and the Blades could well be off now.
Leeds will hope this means that they're in the driver's seat when it comes to landing Souttar at the death, the no-nonsense 6 foot 6 colossus coming in to be a perfect Ben Godfrey alternative with a potential deal in the works for the Everton man going mysteriously quiet at Elland Road.
This also comes amid the news that the Whites are seemingly closing in on a deal for Burnley right-back, Connor Roberts, with the improvements to the backline seemingly a real priority over the coming hours.
How Harry Souttar would fit into the Leeds team
Only making three appearances this season for Enzo Maresca's table-topping Foxes in the Championship, Leeds could be an attractive club for Souttar to join to revitalise his stuttering career.
The 25-year-old defender excelled at previous club Stoke City before the allure of a move to the King Power Stadium became too much of a temptation to resist, helping himself to a goal and three assists in a breakout campaign back in the 2020-21 season.
It's Souttar's brute presence on the pitch that would have turned heads at Leeds to try and bring him in, with football journalist Sacha Pisani even referring to the current Leicester man as an "absolute beast" when featuring for Australia back in 2022 at the World Cup.
The £40k-per-week titan also beats Godfrey when it comes to aerials won over the last year per 90 minutes, the intimidating defender coming in at 3.45 successful aerials on average compared to his Toffees counterpart's lesser 1.75.
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With Leeds' game at the back centred on calm build-up play before bursting into life courtesy of the explosive attackers at Farke's disposal, Souttar could offer the Championship side a far more dogged and determined defender to slot in alongside a stylish Joe Rodon.
Yet, Rodon can win his fair share of duels and tackles too – coming in at 2.96 aerials won over the same time period to show he can also be a resilient and dominant defensive presence who can roll his sleeves up when needed, on top of passing the ball around with ease at a 90.9% pass accuracy.
Souttar has also become a regular goalscoring hero for Australia on the International stage, scoring a ridiculous 11 times for his nation from only 26 caps.
Leeds will feel disheartened by a deal for Godfrey going cold as things stand, but if they can land Souttar instead – alongside the impending arrival of Roberts – all that disappointment will be put to one side.
The Foxes centre-back could even form an imperious defensive partnership with Rodon over time, as Leeds look to strengthen wherever necessary to try and win automatic promotion.
