BBC pundit Noel Whelan has hailed Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster as the perfect January signing to boost Leeds United chances of securing promotion into the Premier League.
The Mirror linked Brewster with a move to Elland Road over the weekend, as they claimed the striker is a loan target for the Whites, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Swansea City.
Villa are understood to be leading the race for his signature with head coach Dean Smith keen to add another option up front, and identified Brewster as a potential candidate after failing to break into Jurgen Klopp’s squad at Anfield.
Brewster has made just one Premier League matchday squad this season but failed to make it off the bench against Chelsea, and has instead been resigned to the youth ranks on Merseyside outside of appearances in the Carabao Cup.
But Whelan feels he would be the ideal option for us to target come the winter market, as it would give Marcelo Bielsa the needed depth in attack to push for promotion.
“I’d love him at Leeds,” Whelan told Football Insider. “He is young, hungry, exciting, well spoken about by Jurgen Klopp. If we could pull that deal out of the bag in January, wow, perfect.
“It would be a great deal for us. He would offer something a bit different to what we’ve already got. We need strength in depth up front. Two senior strikers Patrick Bamford and Eddie Nketiah is not enough for a Championship campaign.
“If we can get someone like Rhian Brewster, that would give us three proper centre-forwards who can be rotated as and when needed. You need three strikers in case of injuries and suspensions if you’re going for promotion.”
Would you take Brewster on loan in January?
Yes, absolutely
No, he isn't good enough
No, just play Nketiah more
No, he wouldn't play
Klopp was strictly opposed to the idea of loaning Brewster out in the summer, with the 19-year-old telling FourFourTwo: “Yeah, I spoke to him at the beginning of the season and he just said ‘no’.
“He doesn’t want me to go on loan, he wants me to stay. So that’s fair enough and it’s good to hear.”
The German may have changed his stance since, though, with Football Insider reporting last week that the Anfield chief is now willing to listen to offers as he doubts Brewster will feature heavily outside of the domestic cup competitions.
Brewster has scored five goals this season, with four in seven Premier League 2 appearances and one in two UEFA Youth League outings thus far.