Leeds United's January transfer window plans are hardly the most extravagant. The club intend to keep their powder dry and their chequebook firmly in their pocket this winter.
Marcelo Bielsa's side could do with reinforcements, but given Leeds' relative overperformance at this stage of the season, in that they are not threatened by relegation, incoming deals are unlikely.
Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Adama Traore has been linked with Leeds United, even before the transfer window opened on January 4th. Much of those links can be attributed back to Director of Football Victor Orta's quotes regarding the Spaniard when he was signed for Middlesbrough.
At that time, Orta was working in a similar capacity for the North East club, and has been credited as reigniting Traore's career at a time when his stock had fallen considerably in England.
His 2019/20 campaign with Wolves put him firmly in the spotlight, earning a senior Spain call-up and plaudits as the Premier League's dribbling king.
Any suggestion that he will leave Molineux in January to join Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United are pure fantasy, however.
Victor Orta's links to the player may be valid, but Orta would not push through an eight-figure signing without the seal of approval from Bielsa.
Equally, it is difficult to see the Argentine warming to a player who is very much an individual as opposed to a team player.
Traore's standout attribute is dribbling, a metric which Bielsa's Leeds United sides of the past few seasons have hardly been table-toppers in. Leeds pride themselves on their collective work ethic, not their individual spark, and while that kind of quality could have bailed them out of some difficult games this season, Traore's price-tag tips the scales in the complete wrong direction.
Before even contemplating the likely wage packet Traore would command, a £36 million fee, as reported by Sport, is a non-starter for Leeds.
Admittedly, they did sign Rodrigo Moreno in the summer for a fee within a similar region, but that means it is even less likely that Leeds will enter the market so soon, and at such a scale once again.
The club have been transparent with their plans for the future in Angus Kinnear's programme notes and Andrea Radrizzani's frequent disclosures on social media. A marquee signing who is a far-from-necessary addition is not on their agenda.
