Rangers 'hold talks' with ex-Leeds United target as £21m Whites 'target' on Serie A champions' radar

Leeds United look set for a place in the Championship play-offs after seeing Ipswich Town win 2-1 at Coventry City on Tuesday night. Kieran McKenna’s side took a huge step towards joining Leicester City in the top two and are now three points clear of the third-placed Whites.

United’s superior goal difference means a final-day twist is still possible but they will need to beat Southampton and hope West Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town do them a major favour by beating Ipswich at Portman Road. However, a point or three for the Tractor Boys would see them up and consign Daniel Farke’s side to play-off drama.

It leaves Leeds in an extended state of limbo where they cannot properly plan for next season, given they don’t know what league they will be in. But work is ongoing behind the scenes and the YEP has rounded up some of the latest headlines.

Johnson talks

Rangers have reportedly opened talks with West Ham defender Ben Johnson in the hope of landing him on a free transfer this summer. The Athletic reports that manager Philippe Clement is on the lookout for full-back reinforcements and has set his sights on the 24-year-old.

Johnson was among a number of full-backs eyed by Leeds during the January transfer window, with Farke keen to fill the gap left by Djed Spence and Luke Ayling, who returned to Tottenham and joined Middlesbrough on loan respectively. But a move never progressed and Connor Roberts eventually joined from Burnley for the remainder of the season.

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West Ham have been unable to tie Johnson down to a new contract and so he looks set to leave as a free agent, with Rangers at the front of the queue. It remains to be seen whether Leeds will return but full-back will once again be a priority area to strengthen, with Roberts returning to Burnley while the contracts of Ayling and Sam Byram are currently on course to expire this summer.

O’Riley liked

Inter Milan are the latest side to be linked with a move for former Leeds target Matt O’Riley. Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport reports that the recently-crowned Serie A champions are exploring the possibility of taking him on board at the San Siro, following another excellent campaign in Scotland with Celtic.

Leeds have been linked with interest in O’Riley over the past year and promotion back to the Premier League would likely see such reports emerge again. But any return for the Danish international now looks set to be up against some stiff competition, with some of Europe’s top clubs also keeping tabs on the situation in Glasgow.

Spanish giants Atletico Madrid are also thought to have expressed an interest in the midfielder in January but Celtic knocked that back amid a Scottish Premiership title challenge, setting a price tag of €25m (around £21.4m). That may well have increased further, with the 23-year-old registering an impressive 13 goals and 11 assists in 33 league appearances.