Here is your Leeds United morning digest for Tuesday, January 5.
Norwich to ignore Buendia, Cantwell offers
Norwich City will reportedly ignore offers for their star triumvirate that has led them to the top of the Championship table thus far.
Daniel Farke's side have flown through the first half of the season, with Emi Buendia, Todd Cantwell, and Max Aarons singled out for special praise for their recent performances.
However, despite attracting interest from a range of Premier League clubs, Sky Sports reports that the Canaries will ignore any offers for any of the trio as they look to secure promotion back to the Premier League after last season's relegation.
Leeds have previously been linked with a move for Buendia, who has been strongly mentioned with a move to Arsenal this January, while the report adds that Cantwell has piqued the Whites' interest, though his £30 million valuation is said to be problematic.
Leeds receive Dieng boost
Leeds have received a boost in their reported pursuit of Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Seny Dieng.
It had previously been rumoured that Leeds, Arsenal, and Crystal Palace were set to battle it out for Dieng, who has broken into the Rangers starting XI after a series of loans, making 20 appearances this season.
However, the South London Press reports that Palace are not interested in adding a goalkeeper. It is highlighted that Roy Hodgson said incomings would be unlikely in January, while the Eagles signed Jack Butland as back-up to Vicente Guaita in the summer.
Illan Meslier is currently Marcelo Bielsa's first-choice keeper at Leeds. He was criticised for a mistake that led to Tottenham Hotspur's opening goal in Saturday's 3-0 defeat, but Bielsa publicly backed the young shot-stopper.
Defence must be fixed
Alan Hutton believes that Bielsa must fix Leeds' defence before he thinks about adding further offensive players in the transfer market.
Despite links with Adama Traore, Leeds have conceded 33 goals so far this season, the second-most in the division ahead of only West Brom, and Hutton believes that the backline should be the Whites' priority.
Speaking to Football Insider, he said: "I’d be more worried about my backline than these forward-thinking players.
"We know what Adama Traore can bring you – he’s pacy, he’s intelligent, he’s a willing runner. The same goes for Michael Olise. You’re always mindful of burnout. I know they train very hard, they play at 100 miles per hour. You will need reinforcements.
"But for me, it’s the backline. I looked at it the other day and Ayling was playing at centre-half and he’s a right-back. Alioski, who’s a winger, was playing at left-back. Dallas was playing as a midfielder. I’d be more worried about that.
"They’re conceding a lot of goals, a lot of goals from corner kicks. I would want to shore up the defence first because you can play the best football and you can attack, attack, attack, but if you’re conceding that many goals you’ll end up going down. That’s the way the Premier League is."
