Leeds are in talks with Harry Wilson about a possible move to Elland Road from Fulham, but Southampton have rejected our initial offer for Shea Charles.

12 months ago our attempt to sign Harry Wilson fell through in the final hour of the transfer window, and the player went on to have a stellar season for Fulham, scoring 10 goals and creating 7 others. So it’s no surprise Leeds are after him again, and this time there would be no transfer fee involved, after the West London club failed to get him to renew his contract.

The 29 year-old would provide that all-important attacking midfield creativity we were lacking last season, and although there are likely to be other clubs competing for his signature, he will know several of our players from his days with the Welsh squad, which might just swing it for us.

The Athletic have also reported that Leeds are looking at Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Brandt, who is another playmaker who is out of contract at the end of the month. It’s not clear whether we are intending to sign both players, or if Brandt is viewed as an alternative if we fail to sign Wilson.

Brandt right-footed attacker, who can play anywhere across the pitch, but he primarily operates as a ‘number 10’, behind the centre forward. At 30 he has plenty of experience of top flight football, having made 383 appearances in the Bundesliga and 82 in the Champions League, over the course of the last 11 seasons.

He has been capped 48 times by Germany, but didn’t make their squad for the World Cup now in progress, and the consensus is that he has gone a little ‘stale’ at Dortmund and needs a new challenge.

The Athletic have also reported that we have made a £20million bid for Southampton’s Shea Charles, which hasn’t met the south coast club’s valuation, but talks are still continuing between the clubs. Southampton will need to raise a bit of cash after their unsaintly spying got them thrown out of the play-offs, amid talk of some possible legal action from their own players!

At 22 he is considerably younger than our other two transfer targets, and is primarily a physical defensive midfielder, though he has the stamina to make runs upfield and has had some success in shooting from distance. I thought we were quite well stocked for central midfielders already, but he can also operate in central defence, which might come in handy if we continue with the 5-3-2 formation.

Charles joined Southampton from Manchester City in the summer of 2023 and has since made 76 appearances for them as well as fitting in a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday. He has 35 caps for Northern Ireland, and despite his young age has also captained his country, which might suggest he could become one of the dominant personalities in the dressing room.

There are still two months of the transfer window to go, and it’s likely that the market won’t really get going until after the World Cup, but it’s good to see that the powers that be at the club are already working to improve the squad.

Reuters