{{primary_category}}
{{/primary_category}} 
MOT View: Orta must sign this Harrison Reed this summer
According to The Daily Mail, Fulham midfielder Harrison Reed has been linked with a summer move to Leeds United.
The Whites are keen on strengthening their midfield in this window and have seen the 26-year-old as the ideal man to provide depth in two key areas of the pitch.
Having tracked the player all season, Leeds are now understandably in a position to make a swoop for the midfielder who’s unlikely to play in the Championship for recently relegated Fulham next season.
It will be hard for the Cottagers to convince the Englishman to play, who despite their poor performances, had a noteworthy season, and in many ways has earned himself a move to a bigger club.
Sign him up
Harrison Reed is not the glamour signing that will get too many fans excited, but he’s a utility player who can put in a shift for the manager – and would be adored by Marcelo Bielsa.
Subscribe to Football Insider TV now
The Argentine likes his players to be adept at playing multiple positions and he fits the bill perfectly given his capability of not just playing as a deep-lying playmaker or a more advanced midfielder, but also as a right-back.
In the modern game, managers against their full-backs to invert in order to create numerical superiority in midfield, and that’s a role Reed seems to be capable of playing – having done that on several occasions in the Championship.
Harrison Reed the latest to be "linked". Whilst he wouldn't be a glamour signing, he'd be a useful addition to the squad. Good back up for Phillips whilst also being able to play slightly ahead of him. They both have pretty similar basic data profiles. #LUFC pic.twitter.com/tvv3Y00uko
— Tom (@thomas_wilson95) June 9, 2021
The above graphic highlights precisely why Leeds want him and why he could take the club to the next level.
He is stylistically similar to Kalvin Phillips, and it goes without saying that he would be a decent backup to the England international.
However, he offers that extra defensive solidity which could even see Bielsa play a system with the two of them anchoring the midfield with a more advanced midfielder playing as a free-eight.
Phillips likes to link up play and get into half-spaces where he can ping balls right into the box. Having somebody holding behind him, he could have the license to express a bit of his creativity in the final third rather than just sitting in the defensive and midfield third.
Having a reliable addition in midfield could be exactly what we need for the club to bridge the gap from the top seven and mount a realistic European push next season.
In other Leeds United news, MOT View: Orta must sign ‘World-class’ left-back for Leeds, reportedly now available for £10m