The 26-year-old, whose contract expires in the summer, has made it know he would be happy to join Newcastle ... but several Premiership clubs are expected to join the chase for his signature.
A statement from Leeds Utd: "Leeds United can confirm that Jermaine Beckford has handed in a transfer request.
"The transfer request was handed in on December 30.
"By handing in a transfer request it clearly indicates that the player wants to leave Leeds United.
"However, that will only be allowed to happen in the event that it is decided to be in the best interests of Leeds United.
"The best interests of Leeds United involve receiving both an acceptable transfer fee and securing a suitable replacement to ensure his departure does not have an adverse effect on the club's overall aim of securing promotion back to the Coca-Cola Championship."
Chris Hughton: "The most important thing from our point of view is that, come the end of this window, we have got what we believe is the right players in and the right squad to go through what will be a difficult second half of the season."