Leeds United are in the market for defensive reinforcements across the entire back four this summer.
In the centre of defence, Pascal Struijk is the only one whose future is somewhat certain, with Joe Rodon having returned to Tottenham at the end of his loan spell. It is still unclear whether he will return.
Captain Liam Cooper is also out of contract this month, while Charlie Cresswell is attracting interest from across Europe and could be sold for around £3 million.
On the flanks, Connor Roberts will not be signing for Leeds permanently following his loan spell from Burnley, meaning Sam Byram and Junior Firpo are the only recognised full-backs at the club.
It’s also not certain as to whether Firpo will be staying either, with his contract up next summer and no sign of a new deal being offered. As such, there is plenty of work to do.
Journalist claims January Leeds target Ben Godfrey has rejected Everton deal
Leeds spent much of the latter stages of January working to bring in a new centre-back due to the injury Struijk picked up on Boxing Day, that ruled him out for the rest of the season.
An offer was made for Nottingham Forest’s Joe Worrall, while Leicester City’s Harry Souttar was also a target, but they did not want to let him join a promotion rival.
However, the one they really wanted was a player Daniel Farke knows extremely well from his Norwich City days, in Everton’s Ben Godfrey.
Godfrey had been destined for an Everton departure until he was brought back into the starting XI late in January, and from then on he became a regular.
However, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke, Godfrey has rejected multiple new contract offers at Everton and now has just 12 months left to run on his deal.
Given past interest, there would be no better time for Leeds to pounce on this uncertainty than now and with the lure of working under Farke again, there could be a chance.
While primarily a centre-back, Godfrey has also filled in on both sides at full-back multiple times at Everton, making him the perfect versatile option Leeds need.
AC Milan linked with summer Godfrey move
If Leeds were to reignite their interest, one potential stumbling block to a deal could be interest from elsewhere.
It has already been reported AC Milan are taking a look at him this summer, with the English market one they have used a few times in recent years in Fikayo Tomori and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
It would be very difficult for Leeds to compete both financially and football-wise for Godfrey if they were to firm up their interest, but there is certainly no harm in trying.