Leeds now chasing “sublime” £9m-rated “incredible talent”, Marsch badly needs him - opinion

Leeds United have been linked with a summer move for Burnley defender Nathan Collins.

According to a recent transfer report from talkSPORT by Alex Crook, the Whites are joined by fellow Premier League clubs Wolves and Aston Villa in monitoring the Irishman’s situation at Turf Moor following the Clarets’ relegation.

Having worked his way through Stoke City’s youth ranks, the centre-back joined Burnley last summer in a deal worth a reported fee of around £12m.

Throughout his debut season at Turf Moor, the 21-year-old only made 19 league appearances but was still able to show how capable a defender he can be in the top flight. In those 19 games, Collins won 23 tackles and made 48 blocks, 37 interceptions and 102 clearances, as per FBRef.

His overall performances in the league earned him a season rating of 6.89/10 from WhoScored, making him the fourth-highest rated player at Burnley. By the same metric, this rating would have made him the second-highest rated outfield player in Leeds’ squad for 2021/22.

Labelled an “incredible talent” by Irish journalist John Balfe on Twitter, Collins was praised for a “sublime” goal that he scored for the Republic of Ireland earlier this week by his national team boss Stephen Kenny, which shows that he can be just as formidable in front of the opponent’s goal as he is in his own penalty area.

Taking into account how Leeds conceded 79 goals throughout their latest Premier League campaign, leaving only rock-bottom Norwich City (84) with a worse record, it’s safe to say that the Whites and Jesse Marsch could do with adding some defensive reinforcements to their ranks this summer.

With that in mind, Collins could be the perfect fit for Leeds given his young age and clear ability to be a solid