Fresh update on Emi Buendia January links as Sunderland & Middlesbrough eye £8m Leeds United summer exit

Leeds United will go into 2025 clear at the top of the Championship after Sunday’s hard-fought 1-0 win at Derby County took them above rivals Sheffield United. Brenden Aaronson’s beautifully crafted second-half finish proved decisive at Pride Park to cap off an excellent day for the Whites, with the Blades, Burnley, Sunderland and Middlesbrough all dropping points.

Victory means Leeds are now two points clear in first and will go into the January transfer window in a position of great strength. Daniel Farke has predicted a quiet month in LS11 but that is not to say nothing will happen. The German remains fully focused on Wednesday’s visit of Blackburn Rovers to Elland Road, however, and the YEP has rounded up some of the latest stories surrounding the club in the meantime.

Buendia update

A January return for summer loan target Emi Buendia doesn’t look likely as things stand, according to BBC West Yorkshire Sport reporter Adam Pope. Leeds had the Aston Villa midfielder on a shortlist of possible No.10 arrivals throughout the summer, with Farke still a big fan of the player who helped him win the Championship title at Norwich City.

Leeds CEO Angus Kinnear confirmed an approach for Buendia was quickly knocked back, with Villa making it clear he ‘wasn't going to be released, and the player didn't want to come back down to Championship level.’ The failure to land an alternative at No.10 has fuelled speculation they may return for the key position next month, and a lack of first-team football at Villa for Buendia has reignited the rumour mill.

But Pope has been quick to pour cold water on talk of a mid-season move. In a transfer-related column for BBC Sport, he wrote: “Emi Buendia has been linked before but the one-time Aston Villa record signing's arrival at Elland Road even after only playing 48 minutes of Premier League football this season seems unlikely.”

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Kamara interest

Three of Leeds’ Championship promotion rivals have been linked with a move for Glen Kamara next month. TBR Football claim Burnley, Middlesbrough and Sunderland are all ‘showing interest’ in the 29-year-old midfielder, who only left Elland Road for French outfit Stade Rennais over the summer.

Kamara spent just one season at Elland Road before Leeds decided to cash in, accepting a deal worth around £8million and effectively doubling their money, with Farke keen to add a more attacking element to his midfield set up. But the former Whites man now faces an uncertain future at Rennes, having fallen out of favour under new manager Jorge Sampaoli.

A lack of regular football is said to have ‘alerted’ Premier League pair Southampton and Ipswich Town, with both fighting to survive in the Premier League. But more interesting from a Leeds perspective is the mention of three Championship promotion hopefuls as potential suitors for Kamara, who still has three-and-a-half-years left on his Rennes contract.