When Leeds signed Djed Spence on loan from Tottenham Hotspur last summer, the initial plan was for him to stay at Elland Road for the entirety of the season. However, early in the January transfer window, the decision was taken to cut the loan short and send him back to North London early.

Manager Daniel Farke appeared to hint that disciplinary concerns were at play when asked about the matter in a press conference, implying that he'd fallen short of "expectations" when it came to "professionalism" and "workload". While he may feel that parting with Spence will be good for the atmosphere within the camp in that respect, he does still need to find a replacement at full-back for the remainder of the campaign to ensure he's not caught short.

It appears that Neco Williams at Nottingham Forest has been identified as a potential solution. Williams made his first-team breakthrough at Liverpool, but after a six-month spell on loan at Fulham in the first half of 2022, he made a permanent switch to Forest for around £17m.

He's racked up 49 games for the club so far, including 13 this season, and was finding game time hard to come by before Steve Cooper was sacked. Williams started just three Premier League games, and appeared in eight, under his compatriot, but has been involved in all three of Nuno's matches, starting one.

Phil Hay update on Neco Williams interest

Speaking on The Square Ball Podcast, journalist Phil Hay says "a few people have been telling" him that Leeds "like" Williams, but he stressed that it would be a tricky deal to execute. That's because, right now, it doesn't look like "there is any scope for Forest letting him out", with Williams seemingly "well in the plans of Nuno".

Williams may well have grown frustrated with his lack of opportunities so far this season, and that may mean he's open to the possibility of dropping down a tier to play more regularly. To further smooth things over on the player side, Leeds already have a relationship with his agents, who represent Crysencio Summerville. The challenge comes in convincing Forest.

Williams would be perfect for Leeds

Liverpool vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold has called Williams an "amazing talent" who "will have a bright future no matter what", and perhaps the best demonstration of that came when he got a taste of the Championship with Fulham. As the table below shows, he ranked inside the league's top six defenders (minimum ten games played) for completed dribbles, accurate final-third passes, accurate crosses and shots per game

Successful dribbles

1.36

6th

Accurate final-third passes

13.21

3rd

Accurate crosses

1.21

6th

Total shots

1.36

1st

He was a potent offensive threat in the full-back positions and someone who's also capable of the spectacular – one of his four direct goal contributions for the Cottagers was a goal-of-the-month nominated strike against Swansea.

This, then, would be a perfect signing for promotion-chasing Leeds given that Williams has proven how effective he can be in the second tier. They may, however, have to see how things pan out for Williams over the course of this month, and hope for a late change of heart from his club.