Marcus Tavernier appears a wanted man this coming January transfer window with a host of sides being credited with an interest in him, including Leeds United.

According to TeamTalk, the Whites have joined the race for the Boro player ahead of a potential battle to sign him in the winter window, which is just over a month away.

Southampton, Burnley and Brighton & Hove Albion have also been linked with the player and are said to have watched him considerably over the last few months, so it's clear a gaggle of Premier League sides are interested in him.

You can see why, too, with the talent and potential he possesses and Middlesbrough, of course, will be eager to try and keep hold of him for as long as they can.

He featured for the full 90 minutes in Chris Wilder's first game in charge against Millwall at the weekend, continuing a trend of playing very regularly indeed so far for Boro in the Championship.

The early indicators are, then, that Wilder will want to be using him a lot this season and with a contract that runs until summer 2023, there isn't a desperate need to sell him in January at least.

Of course, come the summer of 2022, he may be in a position where there is a year left and we'll have to see if a new deal is penned or if a club swoops in, but Boro at least have a little bit of wriggle room in this situation, if not bags of it.

Without doubt, Tavernier is a good player and the coming couple of years are going to be important in terms of how he sets up the rest of his career.