Exclusive: C'ship promotion chasers in pole position to prise Nketiah from Leeds in January
Bristol City have set their sights on prising Eddie Nketiah from Leeds United in January, Football Insider has learned.
The Championship promotion chasers are in the market for a centre-forward and are keen to take advantage of Nketiah's second-choice status at Elland Road.
A source with knowledge of the Arsenal loanee's situation has told Football Insider that Bristol City are in pole position to land him in the upcoming transfer window on loan for the second half of the season.
Lee Johnson's seventh-placed side tried to sign Nketiah in the summer but were beaten to his signature by Leeds as they agreed a season-long loan with the Premier League giants shortly before the window shut.
However, Arsenal can activate a mid-season recall clause if he has not played a stipulated number of minutes, and they believe the forward's development is best served by being in a team where he is getting regular senior matches.
That could mean sending him out on a new loan for the second half of the campaign.
This comes after Football Insider broke the news in midweek that Leeds are expecting Arsenal to recall Nketiah from his season-long loan in January.
Marcelo Bielsa has subsequently expressed his desire to keep the 20-year-old not only for this season, but next season, too.
However, Leeds have let themselves open to losing Nketiah and there is a possibility he could leave without ever starting a league game for them.
Nketiah has not started a single Championship match for Leeds since signing from Arsenal in August despite making a big impact as a substitute.
He has missed Leeds' last four matches, including Tuesday's 1-0 win at Reading, through injury and is not expected to be involved against Middlesbrough today despite returning to training on Thursday.
His total of 430 minutes of first-team action for United this season has yielded five goals in all competitions, including two strikes in his only two starts, both of which came in the League Cup.