Business in the high street may be struggling but Dennis Wise is determined to carry on with his January spending spree.

The Leeds manager wants to have a new central defender in place before Monday's visit to Crewe and is confident he will be able to sign his target in time to replace Rui Marques, who has left for the African Nations Cup.

After a shaky Christmas period, in which Leeds won only two of six matches, Wise set out to freshen up his squad and give some players who might be starting to sit on their laurels "a kick up the backside".

He has brought in midfielders Neil Kilkenny, Bradley Johnson and Peter Sweeney and is still chasing Walsall left back Dan Fox.

Wise has also extended the contract of back-up goalkeeper David Lucas until the end of the season.

One player who will not feature in United's run-in is talented youngster Tomi Ameobi, who has agreed to stay on loan at Scunthorpe until the end of the season.

The 19-year-old striker has made nine substitute appearances for the struggling Championship side.

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