And one of those who is said to be on United’s radar is out of favour Everton defender Ben Godfrey, who Calcio Mercato in Italy claimed that Leeds held an interest in over the weekend going into the final stages of the mid-season market. Leeds were said to be in a fierce battle though for the services of the 26-year-old, who has played just twice in the Premier League this season for the Toffees, with clubs not just in England but also overseas looking into a late deal for the versatile defender.

The aforementioned Calcio Mercato report claimed that Sheffield United were also looking into Godfrey’s availability, but so are Italian giants AC Milan, which would represent a big move for the ex-Norwich City man if an offer actually came. Farke and Leeds will still hold hope of tempting Godfrey to West Yorkshire in order to try and win promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, but a significant road block may have now emerged when it comes to trying to strike that deal.

According to a fresh report from TEAMtalk, Godfrey is said to prefer a move overseas if it can happen rather than moving to another club in the English leagues. That would put a team like Milan at the head of the race for his services, whilst Atalanta have already reportedly been in talks to try and land Godfrey’s services to no avail. Everton are also said to want a permanent transfer if any to let Godfrey go and they are not particularly keen on entertaining straight loan deals for the back-up defender – that would likely not suit Leeds due to the fact they are currently a Championship club.

Godfrey may prefer to move overseas if he is going to leave Everton for more game-time, but there is no guarantee that any interested foreign parties will be able to stump up the cash that the Toffees want for his services. And if it is just game-time that Godfrey wants, then a loan switch to Leeds could make the most sense at this stage of his career where he simply just needs minutes on the pitch on a regular basis.

Whilst Merseyside isn’t exactly a million miles away from his home-town of York, Leeds is only round the corner from his roots and with the right-back slot up for grabs under Farke, Godfrey could slot in there as a natural option and relieve teenager midfielder Archie Gray of that responsibility. It may also benefit Everton to get Godfrey in the shop window for the rest of the season so that they could make some money back on him in the summer, with the defender set to be out of contract in 2025.