After capturing a Whites player in the summer, a Europa League team is vying Leeds United for a crucial target – Report

Leeds hasn’t added a single player to their roster this month, thus their transfer priority for the second half of January needs to be full-back.

There are no natural right-backs at the club because Luke Ayling followed Djed Spence out the door, suggesting that Sam Byram is a better fit on the left.

Leeds is reportedly interested in signing West Ham full-back Ben Johnson because of the Irons defender’s flexibility, according to The Athletic.

Johnson, 23, has just two Premier League appearances in 23/24 and is out of contract in the summer. He is also slightly out of favor this season.

The 23-year-old’s loan request is being considered at Elland Road; since his contract is about to expire, this could result in a summer free transfer.

According to TEAMtalk, Johnson is also a target for Real Betis and Villarreal in La Liga this month.

The article also names Sheffield United and Southampton, but Betis may be the more likely to make a bid given that their manager, Manuel Pellegrini, formerly of West Ham, was a colleague of the defender at the London Stadium.

The fact that Betis can provide Europa League football and Villarreal Europa Conference League football presents a challenge for Leeds.

Marc Roca, who joined Pellegrini’s team at Betis in the summer after leaving Leeds, is, of course, currently loving his game.

Johnson’s signing makes a lot of sense for Leeds both short- and long-term, as we obviously need depth at full-back both now and in the future.

Johnson would undoubtedly set us up for a free move in the summer if we signed him and saw how well he performed—this would be a really smart approach to add depth.

However, the promise of playing football in Europe is concerning, and if we want to convince him to accept it, we must move quickly.