Leeds United have launched an audacious bid to secure the signing of Hull City winger Jarrod Bowen, a report from The Sun has claimed.

The Elland Road club have reportedly offered to pay a £3million fee to take the 23-year-old on loan for the rest of the season, with the view to making that deal permanent for a further £15million in the summer transfer window, should they win promotion to the Premier League in the current campaign.

Marcelo Bielsa's side currently sit second in the Championship standings, six points clear of the play-off places after 27 games of the current league campaign.

Since joining Hull from Hereford in 2016, Bowen has quickly established himself as a key figure for the Tigers, meaning they are unlikely to want to lose him this month, or indeed at all if possible.

Here, we take a look at three reasons why Hull simply must reject this reported approach for Bowen from Leeds.

He would be a huge loss on the pitch

The obvious reason Hull will not want to lose Bowen this month, is the impact it will have on them on the pitch.

Having netted no fewer than 22 league goals last goals, Bowen has already proceeded to find the net 16 more times in the Championship in the current campaign, which when you consider Hull's next highest goalscorer Kamil Grosicki has six this year, just goes to show how important the 23-year-old is to this club.

Indeed, with the Tigers still only three points off the play-off places as things stand, they are unlikely to have fully ruled out their own chances of promotion this season, although when you look at the stats, it is pretty clear they will need Bowen with them for the rest of the campaign if they are to do that.

It would not go down well with the club's fans

Of course, those Hull supporters are not going to want to see Bowen leave the KCOM Stadium under any circumstances, but a move such as this feels like it would be particularly badly received.

Given the rivalry there is between the fanbases of Hull and Leeds, those of a Tigers persuasion will surely be desperate not to see their side allow one of - if not their best - players of recent years make the move to Elland Road.

Indeed, if this move was to go through, and Bowen go onto help Leeds win promotion to the Premier League - and there is certainly a possibility that could happen - the taste in the mouths of Hull fans would likely be sourer than ever, meaning this may well be a deal for the Tigers' hierarchy to avoid if they want to keep their own supporters on-side.

It could be hard to replace Bowen this month

If Bowen does indeed leave the KCOM Stadium, then his importance to the side means he would surely have to be replaced immediately for Hull to have any hopes of progressing, although the makeup of this deal could make that hard to do.

With Hull only standing to receive £3million for Bowen this month under the terms of this particular offer, that would make it incredibly hard for the Tigers to out and find a player with the ability to make the sort of impact for them that Bowen does - which is enough to see them value him at £20million.

That could then leave Hull treading water for the rest of the season, putting all the good work of the first half of the campaign to waste, and given how quickly things can change in this division, potentially even looking over their shoulders, which would also be unlikely to help them replace in the summer, if they are indeed unable to do that before then.