Leeds United are plotting a January transfer window move for Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder Issouf Sissokho, according to Africafoot.
Daniel Farke's side, who won the Championship title last season, currently sit 16th in the Premier League table after picking up eight points from their opening eight games.
Following their promotion, Leeds spent heavily on central midfield recruits within the summer transfer window, seeing German Anton Stach arrive from Hoffenheim and Newcastle United academy graduate Sean Longstaff leave St James' Park for Elland Road.
With survival in the top flight the aim for the Whites, another central midfielder in the form of young Malian Sissokho has emerged on Leeds' radar, and a mid-season deal is reportedly gathering pace.
Leeds Set To Make Offer for Sissokho In 'Coming Weeks'
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke
Sissokho left French outfit Bordeaux in the summer of 2024 after five years and 65 outings for the club for Maccabi Tel Aviv, and has since made 57 appearances for the Israeli outfit.
So far this season, Sissokho has found the net once in 13 outings, making two appearances in the Champions League and six in the Europa League for Tel Aviv.
Africafoot add that Leeds 'have already begun discussions with the player's entourage', and are 'planning to make a first official offer' to Tel Aviv for the 23-year-old midfielder in the coming weeks.
Team name Issouf Sissokho games Issouf Sissokho goals/assists
Bordeaux 65 2/1
Maccabi Tel Aviv 57 0/3
Mali national team 1 0/0
However, the same report adds that Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros, managed by former Leeds player and coach Robbie Keane, previously expressed interest in Sissokho last summer.
Ironically, Keane left Tel Aviv just two months before the Israeli side signed Sissokho from Bordeaux on a free transfer, and now the former Tottenham Hotspur striker looks set to miss out on raiding his former employers with Leeds in pole position to sign the one-capped Malian international in the winter window.
Sissokho Can Help Leeds To Stay In Premier League
Daniel Farke
So far in the Premier League campaign, Farke's Leeds have averaged just 48% possession in their opening eight clashes, the 13th highest in the top flight.
More worryingly for Leeds fans, however, is that the Whites sit 16th in the top flight in terms of goals conceded per match thanks to their 1.6 per game average thus far.
As a result, Farke will be hoping to bolster Leeds' defensive solidity in the January transfer window amid their quest to stave off relegation, and the addition of £1.2m-rated Sissokho could be a major benefit for their prospects in the second half of the season.