Leeds United supporters have been relatively quiet in the Transfer Tavern in recent times given their side’s poor run of form, which got even worse over the weekend as Thomas Christiansen’s men went down 1-0 at home to Reading to suffer their first home defeat of the campaign.

The Yorkshire giants went into their clash with Jaap Stam’s Royals having lost three of their previous four Championship games, yet they still boasted an unbeaten home record which had seen them pick up 11 points out of 15, and ultimately look very strong at Elland Road. However, former Leeds man Mo Barrow bagged the winner for the Berkshire outfit to condemn Christiansen’s side to a fourth league defeat of the season, a result which keeps them sixth in the division but now six points behind leaders Wolves, who got the better of Aston Villa to go top of the pile.

Thus, former APOEL boss Christiansen will have much to ponder over the coming weeks about how to get the best out of his side once again, and they appear to be targeting the January transfer window as a source of inspiration as recent reports suggest that they are interested in Manchester United’s James Wilson.

The 21-year-old came up through the ranks at Old Trafford but has been sidelined for the past 12 months due to a serious knee injury picked up while on loan at Derby County, yet five Premier League 2 appearances suggest that he’s getting back to full fitness.

But with the striker unlikely to get much game time at United, Leeds are reportedly seeking to bring him to Elland Road in the New Year, although they face a battle with Stam’s Reading for the Englishman’s signature.

Nonetheless, here are THREE reasons why Leeds have to fend off the Royals and land the 21-year-old ace in January…

Striking ranks slightly depleted

Chris Wood’s departure during the summer transfer window was always going to cause problems for Leeds, regardless of how well they appear to have done since he made the move to Burnley.

The New Zealand international bagged 27 goals in the Championship last season and still the Whites weren’t able to make the play-offs, so taking that amount of goals out of the team was always going to deplete their ranks.

Summer signing Pierre-Michel Lasogga has led the line for much of the campaign but his goals have somewhat dried up following his fast start, so bringing in someone like Wilson to bolster those ranks can only benefit the Yorkshire giants in the second half of the season.

Huge potential

Wilson did reasonably well on loan at Brighton in the 2015/16 season and looked set for another important spell at Derby County last term, until injury wrecked his chances of progression at Pride Park.

However, the calibre of clubs in for him underlines the enormous amount of potential the striker has, and how good he could go on to become under the right guidance and playing the required amount of football.

The 21-year-old showed glimpses of promise for United when he was in and around their first team in 2014 and 2015, so a sustained run of games at Elland Road in the second half of the campaign could be exactly what he needs to fulfil that potential.

And were he to do so, Leeds would have a seriously talented forward in their ranks to help them in their quest for promotion.

Need options to sustain promotion push

Ultimately, Leeds will not want a repeat of last season, in which they looked set to secure a play-off place only for a wretched run of form to allow Fulham to leapfrog them in the top six.

And the only way they can seek to improve that is by having options in every area of the pitch.

The Championship is a long, hard slog of a season and games come thick and fast after Christmas, especially if one goes on a cup run, so having strength in depth is crucial to manage those matches, and indeed get the best out of the squad.

And bringing Wilson in to give them another forward option is imperative, especially given Wood’s departure over the summer.