West Ham 'fancy' £20m Leeds United summer target as Aston Villa linked with shock move for Elland Road flop

Leeds United return to action this weekend and can look forward to a lengthy period without international football, with Sunday’s trip to Swansea City kicking off what will be a crucial winter schedule. Victory over QPR before the break has left the Whites in third, two points behind both Sheffield United and Sunderland in the automatic promotion places.

Farke will hope to welcome back his international stars shortly and praying they all return unscathed, with no room for any further fitness issues in the squad. And as preparations kick up a notch at Thorp Arch, the YEP has rounded up some of the latest stories surrounding the club.

McAtee interest

Leeds could see hope of signing James McAtee end in January amid reports of interest from the Premier League. The Sun claim West Ham United ‘fancy nabbing’ the Manchester City youngster to succeed Lucas Paqueta, who has been linked with a return to Brazil amid interest from Botafogo.

McAtee remains stuck on the bench at City and has just one minute of Premier League football to his name, with a move away expected either in January or next summer. West Ham are thought to be keen on signing the 22-year-old permanently and the report adds they will have no problem affording his £20million-plus price-tag.

Leeds CEO Angus Kinnear revealed interest in McAtee over the summer as recruitment chiefs failed to land a new No.10, and it remains to be seen whether loan arrivals will be explored in January. The report does not provide clarity on when West Ham are looking to do business.

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Llorente links

Aston Villa have been linked with a shock move for former Leeds defender Diego Llorente. Football Insider report that Villa boss Unai Emery is interested in signing the 31-year-old in a bid to add experience to his defensive unit for the second-half of his side’s campaign.

Llorente left Leeds permanently in July, following the agreement of a deal with Real Betis thought to be worth around £3m. The defender had spent the previous 18 months on loan at AS Roma and has impressed during both spells in Italy and Spain, having failed to find consistent form at Elland Road.

But a second shot at Premier League football could soon surface, although the report adds a move currently looks complicated, given Llorente signed a long-term deal with Betis just four months ago. A separate recent report from Football Insider also claims Villa could look to sell £26m centre-back Diego Carlos in order to fund a move.