Leeds United are thought to be interested in RC Lens centre-back Loic Bade.

That’s according to French outlet ActuFoot, cited by Sempre Milan, who suggest that the Whites, AC Milan, Borussia Monchengladbach, Lyon and Rennes are all keen on the 21-year-old ahead of the summer window.

The report claims that any club willing to firm up their interest in Bade will have to pay €20m (£17.3m).

Bade, recently described as a ‘rising star’ (via Total Football Analysis), has been a regular for Lens this season, making 30 appearances in all competitions.

He’s impressed in Ligue 1 and has been Lens’ highest-rated league performer, as per WhoScored, recording a match average rating of 6.99/10.

Transfer Tavern take

It seems as if Bade has the attributes Marcelo Bielsa looks for in a centre-back.

The youngster has played in a 3-4-1-2 system this season and is known to defend aggressively and is very reliable on the ball.

Bielsa tends to use a three-man defence when coming up against teams who deploy two strikers. The Argentine’s man-marking approach and willingness for his defenders to play out from the back are also key to Leeds’ style of play, so it seems as if Bade ticks a lot of boxes - he completes 85% of his passes, which puts him right alongside the likes of Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk at Leeds.

However, with four senior centre-backs already at Elland Road, there may not be room for Bade in Yorkshire and Bielsa could be willing for Andrea Radrizzani to spend the money elsewhere in the team, like at left-back. Only time will tell.

In other news: Whites eye up Kalvin Phillips alternative, find out more here.