January 2023 might finally be the month Leeds United address their long-standing left-back issue.
This season has seen Leeds have to field centre-back Pascal Struijk as makeshift full-back in the absence of Junior Firpo, who is the Whites only specialist senior left-back.
The Spaniard has struggled for minutes this term having suffered a knee injury prior to the start of the season, forcing Struijk to shift across.
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While the Dutch defender has performed admirably, the reality is the Whites cannot continue to overlook their lack of left-back depth any longer.
And they could be set to renew their interest in January in Philadelphia Union defender Kai Wagner in an effort to remedy their full-back headache.
According to the Athletic's Phil Hay, summer target Wagner remains on Leeds radar, with the Whites keen to add a left-back to their squad in January.
Writing in his Athletic column, Hay wrote: "Despite being 25, Philadelphia Union’s Kai Wagner is one option they are looking at — a defender who is yet to appear in a major European league and has plenty of miles left in the tank.
"A fee to get him from the 2022 MLS runners-up would be likely to fall in the low millions."
While Wagner's contract is set to expire at the end of this year, Philadelphia do have an option to extend the German's deal through 2023.
An attacking full-back, the 25-year-old is one of the best defenders in the MLS, playing an instrumental part in helping Union finish top of the Eastern Conference last term.
During the 2022 season, the full-back made 37 appearances in all competitions, registering nine assists.
That league finish saw Wagner and company handed the top seed in the Eastern Conference play-offs, with Philadelphia making it all the way to the MLS Cup final to face Los Angeles FC.
A dramatic final ensued, which finished 3-3 after extra time. Philadelphia and Wagner thought they had won the game in the 124th minute when defender Jack Elliot bagged their third goal, only for Gareth Bale to break their hearts four minutes later with a last-gasp equaliser.
And then in the resulting penalty shootout following Bale's goal, Philadelphia proceeded to fail from the spot for all three of their penalties, one of which was taken by Wagner.
His contract situation means Wagner would be a low-cost option, one which could prove to be an incredibly astute bit of business for Leeds if it pans out.
He has been praised highly in the past by his Union head coach Jim Curtin, who said of Wagner: "He has the ability to play for me and in any league in the world. I think he’s that talented, and it’s at a position, where let’s be blunt, there’s not a lot of good left backs in the world. Kai is a very strong one and we’re very fortunate to have him."
Something interesting to note is Curtin and Leeds boss Jesse Marsch were former teammates during their time together with MLS side Chicago Fire. If Leeds do end up landing Wagner, it will be interesting to see whether or not that factored into the Whites decision to sign the German.
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