Leeds United secured their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday with an emphatic 3-0 victory away at League One side Peterborough United.
The Whites will now host Plymouth Argyle in the next round and the cup competition has provided a welcome distraction from the pressure of the race to finish in the automatic promotion places.
Daniel Farke's side are currently seven points adrift of the top two and, therefore, have plenty of work left to do to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Leicester City
1
26
65
Ipswich Town
2
26
55
Southampton
3
26
52
Leeds United
4
26
48
West Brom
5
26
42
Sunderland
6
26
40
They do, however, have an opportunity to bolster their chances of earning promotion from the Championship by adding to their squad in the January transfer window.
The winter market opened for business at the start of last week and Leeds could look to improve the quality of their options across the park, particularly in the full-back position.
Leeds transfer news – Neco Williams
Farke could swoop to add another right-back and Nottingham Forest gem Neco Williams is one player who has reportedly caught his eye this month.
Speaking on The Square Ball Podcast after the win over Peterborough, The Athletic's Phil Hay revealed that the Whites 'like' the Wales international.
The reporter claimed that he has been told by a 'few' people that Leeds are interested in the former Liverpool prospect, who currently plays in the Premier League with the Tricky Trees.
However, the journalist also added that it would be a very difficult deal for the club to complete as he is 'rated' by Nuno Espirito Santo, who replaced Steve Cooper in the dugout at the City Ground.
This suggests that Leeds would need to come in with a fairly convincing offer to tempt Forest into doing business before the end of the month.
Hay went on to add that the squad does not look solid in the full-back positions and that he would expect the club to strengthen the group over the coming weeks.
The need for a new right-back stems from the decision to send Djed Spence back to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur five months earlier than expected.
Leeds decided to end his loan earlier this month and the Evening Standard interpreted Farke's comments on the decision as a suggestion that attitude concerns contributed to that decision.
When asked about Spence's situation, the German head coach cited professionalism and discipline as two important topics that he has expectations of from every player in the squad, although he did not go as far as to say that the Spurs loanee, in particular, fell short in that respect.
Farke could now forget all about the England U21 international and perfectly replace him with a swoop to sign Williams if the club can convince Forest to do a deal, whether that is on a loan or permanent basis.
Spence's time with Leeds in numbers
The 6 foot dynamo was an exciting addition to the Whites squad last summer as he arrived with an excellent reputation at this level, having caught the eye during Forest's promotion campaign.
Appearances
42
Goals
Two
Assists
Four
Tackles per game
1.5
Interceptions per game
1.4
As you can see in the table above, Spence made contributions at both ends of the pitch for the Tricky Trees as a wing-back in Steve Cooper's system.
However, the 23-year-old ace had a horrible start to life at Elland Road as a knee injury sustained after his debut, which came off the bench against Sheffield Wednesday in September, ruled him out for ten matches.
His next appearance for Leeds came on the 9th of December as a substitute against Blackburn Rovers in an unnatural position for him at left-back.
In December, Spence made six Championship appearances for the Whites and started five matches, although four of those starts came as a left-back.
The English dynamo averaged 3.5 tackles and interceptions combined per match but failed to showcase his creativity with 0.7 key passes per game and zero 'big chances' created across his seven league outings for the club.
The statistics that show why Leeds should sign Williams
Farke could perfectly replace Spence by landing an upgrade on the Tottenham youngster with a swoop to sign Williams, who has proven his quality in the Championship.
The Wales international, who has made 4.0 tackles and interceptions per match in the Premier League this term, spent the second half of the 2021/22 campaign on loan with Fulham in the second tier.
In those five months, the £50k-per-week dynamo started 14 league matches for the Cottagers and contributed with two goals and two assists from right-back.
He was an exceptional progressive force down the right flank. Williams ranked within the top 1% of Championship full-backs for progressive passes (6.42) per 90 and the top 2% for progressive carries (4.23) per 90 for Fulham that term.
Spence, on the other hand, has only averaged 3.91 progressive passes and 3.45 progressive carries per 90 respectively over the last 365 days for Leeds, Spurs, and Rennes combined.
These statistics suggest that the current Forest gem has the quality in possession to make a greater impact than the Tottenham youngster due to how often he is able to progress the ball up the pitch into dangerous positions.
Appearances
11
Starts
Four
Tackles per game
3.0
Interceptions per game
1.0
Duel success rate
60%
As you can see in the table above, Williams has struggled for regular game time in the Premier League this season and the prospect of starting week-in-week-out could be a tempting one for him.
He has showcased his defensive ability, despite limited minutes, with an impressive output of tackles and interceptions – 0.5 more combined per game than Spence for Leeds – and could combine his defensive and offensive qualities to be a fantastic player.
That is why the Forest whiz, who was once hailed as "excellent" by journalist Callum Castel, would be the perfect replacement for Spence at Elland Road for Farke.