The Mirror have revealed that Leeds United may have to commit to buying Che Adams at the end of the season if they are to land him on-loan from Southampton this month.

Marcelo Bielsa is keen to add more firepower to his squad this month to ensure they clinch promotion, especially after coming so close last season. Before the window opened, Leeds had both Patrick Bamford and Eddie Nketiah to pick from up front, but the latter has been recalled from his loan over concerns about his playing time, leaving the Whites with just Bamford at present.

To remedy this, they are eager to bring in another striker to provide better competition to Bamford than Nketiah could, meaning another loan for a more suitable striker from the Premier League is on the cards.

It has been widely reported that Leeds’ number one target is Southampton’s summer signing, Che Adams. However, this potential swoop hit a bump in the road when Ralph Hassenhutl outlined that Adams is still a part of his plans and won’t leave in this window.

Now, it is being reported by the Mirror that Leeds might have to fork out for a permanent transfer in the summer if they are to prize Adams away from St. Mary’s this month on-loan. Southampton paid around £15million for the forward in the summer to bring him in from Birmingham City and would be keen to recover most of the fee they paid for him if he were to leave.

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The Verdict

If Southampton are taking this stance, this is a huge blow to Leeds’ prospects of signing as it would appear that they cannot commit to such a permanent signing if they do not go up.

Leeds already committed to a similar transfer with Helder Costa and adding another of that calibre would be very risky if they are still in the Championship.

It is yet to be seen what Adams’ stance is in all of this but the club clearly want him to stay on the South Coast, however, if the player ends up asking to leave then they do not have much choice but to let him move to Elland Road.