By David Woods

7th Jan, 2020 | 11:56am

Phil Hay shares who Leeds want as new striker after Southampton manager comments

Leeds United haven’t been deterred in their hunt for Southampton striker Che Adams, despite manager Ralph Hasenhuttl’s comments.

The Southampton manager said the player was going nowhere in January and was quoted as saying, “I wouldn’t consider loaning him out”.

However, according to Athletic journalist Phil Hay, Leeds are still determined to bring the Premier League hitman to Elland Road.

He tweeted to say “Adams still the one they want” on Tuesday morning.

Hay had said previously that Southampton were in the market for a new striker. That could mean Adams being made available later in the window.

He hasn’t scored a goal for the Premier League club after his £15m move from Birmingham in the summer.

Adams – who scored 22 goals in the Championship last season – would be a quality addition who would provide competition for Patrick Bamford.

But, it’s a high-risk strategy that could see the hunt for a new striker move late on in the January window.

That could backfire on Leeds as fans will know from the failed attempt to bring Daniel James to Elland Road in January.

At the least, it would mean Marcelo Bielsa has less time to work with the player and that would see him being introduced into the system later.

The Leeds manager is notorious for wanting to work with players for a few weeks before letting them play in his first-team.

We would love to see Adams play for Leeds but it’s vital that Victor Orta has a viable Plan B he can turn to if it doesn’t happen.

The game against Arsenal last night proved again that a quality striker, or at least a quality back-up, is the one thing Leeds are missing.

In other Leeds United news, ‘Different player’, ‘On absolute fire’ – These Leeds fans in awe of one star despite 1-0 loss