Leeds United defender primed for Scottish loan move in January transfer window after manager admission

Moore has been an ever-present for Leeds' Under-21 side over the past couple of seasons, playing across the back four in a variety of guises. Nominally a central defender, Moore has deputised at right-back most often and at left-back on occasion, whilst also skippering the youngsters.

The 20-year-old recently signed a contract extension at Elland Road which will keep him at the club until June 2025 but is widely considered to be ready for senior football that will not be forthcoming with Leeds given Daniel Farke's wealth of options at centre-back.

Moore has racked up almost sixty appearances for Leeds' Under-21s, including outings for the previous iteration of the reserves known as the Under-23s. This season, he has appeared almost exclusively at right-back, where Hibs are expected to be short on numbers over the next month or two.

Twenty-seven-year-old Chris Cadden is currently out with an Achilles tendon injury and will not return until the end of March, while right-back Lewis Miller has been called up to Australia's squad for the AFC Asian Cup which takes place this month and is due to conclude on February 10 with the Socceroos expected to progress deep into the tournament.

Centre-back Rocky Bushiri is also away on national team duty with the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Africa Cup of Nations, which could necessitate Moore's arrival at Easter Road.

“With Josh Campbell going out, the magic number would be four,” Hibs boss Montgomery said regarding incoming transfers this month. “If we can get two, or one, that’s what we’ll work towards."

“We can only stretch the budget available so far, so that’s why we have to be clinical in our recruitment. We have got a couple of targets but it’s not easy to get quality players in, and to have clubs willing to let them come in for the budget we have available," he admitted.

The YEP understands Hibs are keen to add at least one defender this month, while a handful of potential transfer targets were spotted at the Scottish club's training ground last week.