Huddersfield Town and Reading may be separated by 18 points in the table and hold very different Championship aspirations this season but there is one thing that links them – both appear at risk of losing their key midfielders to Leeds United.

Leeds saw bids rejected by the Terriers for Lewis O'Brien in the summer but despite the 23-year-old signing a new contract in September, the Elland Road outfit have continued to be linked with him ahead of and during the current window.

Royals talisman John Swift is another name on their radar and a player that has been linked with a move to the Whites in a number of previous windows.

Swift has been in stunning form in the first half of 2021/22, scoring eight times and providing nine assists, but is set to become a free agent in the summer.

FLW understands Reading are confident of keeping hold of him until the end of the season but a fresh update on Leeds' plans for the January transfer window could spell trouble for both the Berkshire club and Huddersfield.

As per David Anderson from The Mirror, the Whites are hoping to sign at least one and possibly two midfielders before the market closes at the end of the month.

They're said to have identified three or four targets, with Chelsea's Ross Barkley and Marseille's Boubacar Kamara not among them.

Swift and O'Brien have both been continually touted as players that Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa is a fan of and so if the Yorkshire club are set to sign at least one new midfielder before the end of January, they may well be on the list of targets.

Losing Swift could have a fatal impact on Reading's survival hopes, with the 26-year-old playing a role in 17 of his side's 29 Championship goals this season and Veljko Paunović's team only three points above the drop zone following a points deduction.

At the John Smith's Stadium, meanwhile, O'Brien has been pivotal to helping Huddersfield climb to sixth and losing him would dent their hopes of making the play-offs.

Both players are key to their respective club's aspirations for the second half of the 2021/22 campaign, which means this fresh Leeds transfer update could spell trouble.