After narrowly missing out on Premier League promotion last season, with a playoff semi-final defeat to Derby, Leeds United will be hoping to go one better this season - and things are looking pretty good so far.
Marcelo Bielsa's side are back on top of the Championship, a point ahead of West Brom who have a game in hand and five clear of third-placed Fulha.
However, with the January transfer window fast approaching, it got us thinking about which players Leeds could sign to improve their promotion chances.
What about someone like, James Milner?
The 33-year-old former Leeds midfielder, who is back in the city for a book signing on Sunday, is out of contract with Liverpool at the end of the season and we thought it would be fun to predict what would happen if the Whites signed him in January.
We used popular football management simulation game Football Manager 2020 to try and predict what could happen, for a bit of fun.
Here's what happened.
James Milner - Leeds United in January 2020
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2020 editor to arrange a future transfer of James Milner moving back to Elland Road on a free transfer on January 1st 2019.
We then simulated the game for the entire season, to see how both Milner and the club performed in the 2019/20 season.
This is what Milner's profile looks like in Football Manager 2020.
As this is now Football Manager 2020 we're using, all transfers, managers and teams are up-to-date, so it is as realistic as possible.
Here's what happened.
James Milner's individual stats for Leeds United in 2019/20
Milner became a key player for Bielsa as soon as he stepped through the door at Elland Road.
The midfielder made 27 appearances for Leeds in all competitions from January onwards, scoring four goals and registering an impressive 11 assists.
He was Man of the Match on four occasions, won 63 tackles and completed 714 passes overall, doing an outstanding job in midfield.
At the end of the season, Milner was announced as the club's Player of the Season, after having the highest average match rating of any Leeds player, with an average of 7.43.
What an impact.
Leeds United's best perfoming eleven in 2019/20
Obviously, Milner was included in the best performing Leeds eleven in 2019/20, sitting alongside Kalvin Phillips in midfield.
Despite Patrick Bamford outscoring Eddie Nketiah over the season, Nketiah had a higher overall rating so was included as first choice striker.
Leeds United's league finish in 2019/20
Milner's impact at Leeds was enormous, inspiring them to a second place league finish and promotion to the Premier League, with only Fulham winning more points over the course of the campaign.
And, only Fulham scored more than Bielsa's Leeds, with their defensive record predictably, considering their style of play, not the best.
But, that didn't matter, as promotion to the Premier League was achieved.
So, Football Manager 2020 predicts that if Leeds fans got their dream signing of Milner in Janaury, he could provide a real boost to the team, eventually resulting in promotion to the Premier League.
However, back in the real world this is mere fantasy football - in reality it would need Leeds to be playing Premier League football if they are to lure back their local lad!
Visit our dedicated Leeds United page for the latest news, views and analysis from Elland Road.
