Leeds United must sign 'magnificent' Cardiff City gem amid Bayern Munich links - Opinion

Leeds United have been in impressive form in the Premier League over recent weeks. The Whites have started to find their feet under the guidance of Daniel Farke. They are proving to be a tough side to play against and enjoyed a successful festive period.

The Yorkshire outfit are back in action on Sunday as they aim to keep their momentum going. They face a home clash against rivals Manchester United at Elland Road. Farke’s men drew 0-0 away at Liverpool at Anfield last time out.

Leeds United should target Cardiff City prospect Dylan Lawlor

Leeds will be able to bring in new signings now the January transfer window is open. They have the chance to freshen up their ranks and acquire some fresh faces. With that in mind, they should join the race to sign highly rated Cardiff City defender Dylan Lawlor this winter.

Lawlor, 20, is being tipped for a bright future in the game and the Bluebirds are expected to face a battle to keep hold of him down the line. The Wales international, who has three caps to his name already, has been linked with a shock switch to Bayern Munich. According to talkSPORT, the Bundesliga champions are interested in luring him over to Germany in a surprise move.

The prospect’s contract at the Cardiff City Stadium expires in June 2028 meaning his current club are under no pressure to sell him anytime soon. However, there seems to be an air of inevitability that he will move on as some point soon with the way things are going. He has flourished under the guidance of Brian Barry-Murphy in South Wales over recent times as Cardiff look to claw themselves out of League One.

Why Cardiff City’s Dylan Lawlor would be perfect for Leeds United

Although he probably wouldn’t get into Leeds’ starting XI initially, Lawlor would be a long-term acquisition. He would be one to break into their first-team over the coming years and landing him would show that the Whites are planning for the future. In the interim period, he would provide more competition and depth at the back.

The Caerphilly-born man has been on the books of Cardiff for his whole career to date. He has risen up through their academy and was a regular at various different youth levels. They handed him his debut back in February last year against Aston Villa in the FA Cup and he hasn’t looked back since, making 25 appearances altogether to date.

Lawlor played for the Bluebirds against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup last month. Ex-player Danny Gabbidon was impressed and said afterwards: "Dylan Lawlor is one of the players who has benefitted from Cardiff getting relegated. If Cardiff stayed in the Championship, he probably wouldn't have had these opportunities. We've seen him perform so well and he's a Wales senior international already. I thought he was magnificent."

He added: "What impressed me most about him, that Chelsea goal, the first one, it comes from him trying to play out, he makes a mistake. He will learn a lot. He just shrugged it off, it didn't affect him at all. He will learn a lot from that."

The fact Bayern Munich are said to be keeping tabs on his progress show that Lawlor is a name to keep an eye out for. He would definitely be worth a gamble by Leeds over the coming weeks. Loaning him back out to Cardiff until the summer if an option that they could consider too.