Championship trio Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Queens Park Rangers are all interested in Scunthorpe’s League One ace Funso Ojo.
Sitting fourth in the League One table, Scunthorpe United have realistic hopes of being a Championship team in a few months.
But their highly-rated midfielder Funso Ojo could beat them to the second tier, because the 26-year-old anchorman is being lined up by a number of Championship clubs with just a few days remaining in the January transfer window.
And while Leeds may look a far better bet for a place in the top six than Forest right now, it is tempting to wonder whether the City Ground would be a better destination for him than Elland Road.
After all, Leeds have already signed one defensively minded midfield enforcer this month, paying £4.5 million to bring in Adam Forshaw from Middlesbrough, as reported by the BBC. As a result, the former Belgian under-21 international would face a real challenge forcing his way into Thomas Christiansen’s XI with Ronaldo Vieira, Eunan O’Kane and Kalvin Philipps also fighting for one of two midfield positions.
Japanese international Yosuke Ideguchi will be at Elland Road next season two once he obtains his work permit.
So Forest could offer Ojo a far better chance of first-team football. Chris Cohen is once again on the sidelines while 34-year-old David Vaughan (below) cannot go on forever, opening up a place in the team for a younger model.
And with Aitor Karanka’s side unable to strike deals for Adam Clayton, Grant Leadbitter and co, there is far less competition at the City Ground for Ojo to worry about.
A deal might be easier said than done, however, as Scunthorpe will not want to lose a key man midway through the season.
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