OPINION
Much of the massive Leeds United fanbase are sweating over the club’s deadline-day bid to sign Daniel James from Swansea City.
Latest reports suggest the deal has stalled and United’s hopes of signing their only outfield senior player of the January window is hanging by a thread.
Leeds need an alternative to James, or they face leaving their squad short of attacking quality for the rest of the season.
One available player who could walk into their starting XI and hit the ground running would be Newcastle United winger Jacob Murphy.
As has been reported by BBC Sport and many others, West Brom are working on signing the 23-year-old on loan before the transfer window shuts 11pm as they look for a quality replacement for Harvey Barnes.
Leeds should gatecrash their promotion rivals’ pursuit and offer Murphy the chance to hone his skills by working under master coach Marcelo Bielsa for the rest of the campaign.
Landing the former Norwich City man could be a masterstroke from the Yorkshire giants, given his skill, directness and ability to create and score goals.
At former club Norwich City, Murphy scored nine goals and supplied assists in the Championship two seasons ago, and that is the type of form that could make a massive difference to Leeds.
There would also be the spin-off benefit of beating an automatic promotion rival to a blue-chip signing.
Leeds can end what will be a tense few hours as deadline-day winners if they can land Murphy.