"I've heard...": Phil Hay drops teasing transfer claim that Leeds supporters will love - opinion

Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring James Garner to Elland Road in the summer transfer window.

That’s according to a claim made by Phil Hay, with The Athletic journalist revealing in a recent Q&A that Victor Orta could be plotting a move for the Manchester United central midfielder at the end of the current campaign.

In response to a question regarding the Whites’ transfer plans this summer, Hay said: “James Garner, the Manchester United midfielder who’s on loan at Nottingham Forest in the Championship and having a very good year, is someone I’ve heard mentioned recently.”

Considering just how impressive Garner has been at Forest this season, Hay’s claim that Orta may be plotting a move for the 21-year-old this summer is sure to be news the Elland Road faithful will love.

Indeed, over his 31 Championship appearances in the current campaign, the £3.6m-rated midfielder has been one of Steve Cooper’s standout performers, scoring three goals, registering four assists and creating four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of one shot and making 1.8 key passes per game.

The England U21 international has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.2 interceptions, 1.8 tackles, 26.1 passes and winning 4.3 duels – at a success rate of 53% – per fixture.

These returns have seen the player who Roy Keane claimed is “very good technically” and “likes to dictate play” average a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.16, ranking him as Forest’s third-best performer in the second tier of English football.

As such, it is clear for all to see that Garner would make an exceptional addition to Jesse Marsch’s current options of Kalvin Phillips, Jamie Shackleton, Adam