Leeds United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours 2020/2021

RacoonQueen

Kingp35 wrote: »

We definitely need a new keeper, centre back and striker for next season. I'm not convinced by Ayling either.

I thought last season we really suffered after Ayling went out with injury but just hasn't been the same this season. Arguably we could replace the entire back line. LB isn't our biggest concern but it might be nice to sign someone who has been plying their trade at LB for a few years.

Eggs For Dinner

I think we did well this season with what we had. Bielsa's system needs individuals to be of a higher quality than most of our current squad possess. We need a prolific Championship striker (which are near impossible to find) and a Rob Green type keeper. I've watched a lot of the U23's this year and the bones are there with Bogusz, Shackleton, Edmondson, Helme, Clarke etc.

Of course I'm disappointed, but I'm not baying for blood because they gave everything and more this year in front to the most demanding spectators that you could imagine. If we had won last night and gone on to win the final, too many new players would have been needed in too short a time to compete and we would be straight back down. Let everyone at the club take a breather, enjoy their well earned hols and see how we build on this next season

The Golden Miller

When it comes to Leeds...... if it can go wrong, it will all go completely wrong.

Kingp35

So it was in the news today that we have enquired about signing Jack Harrison. We were quoted £20m! :eek:

maximoose

Haha jesus, I'd be happy to send him back even if it was €2m!

Far too inconsistent

I thought Harrison was underwhelming. 20 million is hilarious. I presume it's 1 million for the player and 19 million towards Man City's need to show legitimate income...

J Cheever Loophole

One of the things that is a constant bug bear for me is how much other teams (rivals) get from their loan signings compared to Leeds. I think there is justifiable criticism for the Club in that regard although we can also bemoan our luck, given the injury to Izzy Brown and - although it now seems like a long time ago now - the injury to Jamal Blackman which I feel could potentially have been as damaging to our prospects as the eleventh hour failure of the deal to land Daniel James.

Ceist_Beag

In general I'd tend to agree with that. There are a few exceptions, Bartley being an obvious one and although we might not have taken to him, Bielsa did seem to favour Harrison this season. But our success in the loan market has been quite poor alright.
I'm hoping by the end of this month we will have secured Bielsa for next season (it's looking positive at the moment) and that any signings will be made early, not in August.
As things stand, it's more than likely we won't be in the market for a new goalie, despite our many concerns, so hopefully Bielsa can get Kiko performing the way an ex Real Madrid keeper would be expected to perform.
In defence, how about an audacious bid for Leighton Baines who is out of contract at Everton? That would solve our LB problem.
In midfield, what would people think about our chances of persuading Jack Wilshere to drop a division? He would be an ideal 10 for us I feel.
I know both of these might be out of reach but neither is establishing themselves at their clubs and both could have a lot to offer giving the right opportunity - could they be tempted I wonder? Obviously if another PL club comes in we're not at the races but if we get in early who knows!

J Cheever Loophole

I'd have to say I like the look of that lad McBurnie at Swansea who seems to be an excellent striker at this level, and as I understand it he is a Leeds' fella. He'd be definitely someone I think would be an addition and the Leeds connection might work in our favour.

NuckChorris1

Agree on the need for early signings. Give Bielsa a full pre-season with any eager, athletic young player and he'll turn them into a star.

Bamford is a workshy idler, he hides behind defenders, and can't seem to get around them. He looks disinterested.

And yet I still think he could rattle in 20 goals if things click. He just has that lazy style of a Viduka.

Ceist_Beag

Yeah but do we want a workshy idler who dives, moans and generally doesn't show the attitude that Bielsa promotes and portrays himself? I defended him earlier this year as I felt he could become the player we believe he is capable of being, however he really disappointed in the run in and his attitude stunk. We may well be stuck with him if no offers come in but personally I wouldn't want him in the team.

NuckChorris1

Did you see Cooper's comment that Bamford had a "weird confidence" when returning to the team for Derby game after his suspension. Could easily read into that, that Bamford thinks a lot of himself and Cooper doesn't necessarily see why. I'd happily swap him for McBurnie or Forrestieri right now but if Beilsa feels a connection and he stays injury free then you never know, he could still be our main man.

PabloAndRoy

Last night I dreamt that Leeds signed Dwight Gayle. Am not a fan of Gayle as a person, but he is a serious striker and was banging them in in my dream.

I know we can't afford him.

NuckChorris1

GoT characters as football clubs, who do we get???

https://twitter.com/FootballJOE/status/1130849934545080321

Zaph

Looks about right, unfortunately

adaminho

I see Callum O'Dowda turned down a new contract with Bristol. We were linked with him in January.

Ceist_Beag

adaminho wrote: »

I see Callum O'Dowda turned down a new contract with Bristol. We were linked with him in January.

Decent option to replace Harrison

Kingp35

adaminho wrote: »

I see Callum O'Dowda turned down a new contract with Bristol. We were linked with him in January.

Now he would be a great signing for us! Hopefully we show some interest.

stryker mcqueen

I would have made the playoff final after all!! Baby girl born at 9am today ......oh and I would love O'Dowda at leeds

GoldFour4

Lasogga released from Hamburg. I wonder would we be tempted? We had a serious issue this year in terms of creating brilliant chances in front of goal and not having the quality to finish.

Ceist_Beag

Meh, Lasogga didn't overly impress last time around, another whose attitude could be questioned. The fact he has been released probably says it all.

NuckChorris1

malistheman wrote: »

Lasogga released from Hamburg. I wonder would we be tempted? We had a serious issue this year in terms of creating brilliant chances in front of goal and not having the quality to finish.

If he had the right attitude to get Bielsa-fit then he could be great. Think he's always had that potential and not fulfilled it though. Someone who's mother is their agent and she does his talking for him doesn't strike me as a Bielsa player though.

PabloAndRoy

Ceist_Beag wrote: »

Meh, Lasogga didn't overly impress last time around, another whose attitude could be questioned. The fact he has been released probably says it all.

IIRC he was a little on the slow and lazy side. I recall shouting at him a few times "get in the fvcking box, you fat lazy bo!!ocks".

Shlippery

Wonder will we see that 'documentary' they were filming surfacing at any stage or if it'll go on the backburner.

NuckChorris1

Shlippery wrote: »

Wonder will we see that 'documentary' they were filming surfacing at any stage or if it'll go on the backburner.

Like Game of Thrones only die-hard fans will commit to watching the whole series knowing that the ending was terrible! That said we have a lot of die-hard fans so it probably will be released, just that it'll be on LUTV rather than Netflix.

purple hands

I doubt he's on their radar but Lasogga's an interesting one. Very good finisher iirc but not the most....eh..."mobile" player to put it kindly. Maybe if he started preseason now...

Now Chris Wood....there's a perfect fit in terms of finishing, work rate, movement etc.

Zaph

Daily Mail reporting that Spurs are preparing a £10m bid for Jack Clarke. If it does materialise, hopefully he'll have enough cop-on to realise his development would be better served by getting some first team action at Leeds rather than in the Spurs reserves.

GoldFour4

https://www.ft.com/content/6e42c740-7f1e-11e9-b592-5fe435b57a3b?list=intlhomepage

Qatar apparently considering a bid for Leeds. No doubt they would make money available.

Zaph

malistheman wrote: »

https://www.ft.com/content/6e42c740-7f1e-11e9-b592-5fe435b57a3b?list=intlhomepage

Qatar apparently considering a bid for Leeds. No doubt they would make money available.

On the one hand I'd be delighted because there would be serious investment (although I'd be a bit concerned that FFP rules might be breached), but on the other hand you can't overlook the poor human rights record and general sh*ttiness of the Qatari regime. The link with the Aspire Academy makes me uneasy enough as it is, without being a full blown subsidiary of Qatar Inc.

malistheman

malistheman wrote: »

https://www.ft.com/content/6e42c740-7f1e-11e9-b592-5fe435b57a3b?list=intlhomepage

Qatar apparently considering a bid for Leeds. No doubt they would make money available.

I can't read the article, seems to be behind a paywall.

But I'd rather decline and spend the next 20 years in the Championship.

There are things that matter more than Leeds United's league position. And the humanitarian crisis in Yemen falls into that category.

Zaph

Phil Hay tweeted a short while ago that from what he's heard the Qatari interest is real but Radrizzani has no plans to sell another stake in the club at the moment.

J Cheever Loophole

Delighted that Derby have not been promoted as the semi-finals left a bitter taste for me, and I'll accept that my view is less than objective. As I've said before, I'm convinced we are a better side than Derby and the thought of them being promoted would have been too much to bear. Furthermore, the removal of Villa means once less potent adversory next season.

If truth be told, I'm not one for blind loyalty, and at the start of the play-offs I expected us to get to the final but to fall to Villa - at least I was spared that stress.

10000maniacs

J Cheever Loophole wrote: »

Delighted that Derby have not been promoted as the semi-finals left a bitter taste for me, and I'll accept that my view is less than objective. As I've said before, I'm convinced we are a better side than Derby and the thought of them being promoted would have been too much to bear. Furthermore, the removal of Villa means once less potent adversory next season.

If truth be told, I'm not one for blind loyalty, and at the start of the play-offs I expected us to get to the final but to fall to Villa - at least I was spared that stress.

I went over to the Villa thread and congratulated them. Looking forward to Leeds knocking Lampard's smile off his trap next season.

stryker mcqueen

10000maniacs wrote:

I went over to the Villa thread and congratulated them. Looking forward to Leeds knocking Lampard's smile off his trap next season.

I don't think lamps will be there next season personally

J Cheever Loophole

Zaph wrote: »

Phil Hay tweeted a short while ago that from what he's heard the Qatari interest is real but Radrizzani has no plans to sell another stake in the club at the moment.

Whilst I agree with the sentiments expressed by Conor74, I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts on Radrizzani's long term strategy here.

I always got the impression that Radrizzani was putting a lot of effort and finance (in terms of what he could afford) into Leeds, possibly with a view to getting promotion to the Premier League and then cashing in on a big investment / takeover. The fact therefore that Qatari approaches appear to be being rebuffed is slightly puzzling and it may be due to the fact that what they're offering to him is not appealing enough to sell.

Again, on the basis of what I've been reading, there have been suggestions that he has been in talks with up to potentially six different investors, so the suggestion seems to be that he is open to offers.

And again, trawling through online media, I have read that the intention next year is that there will be no major investment in the squad and that the key will be to sell some existing players off, use the money generated to replace them and to bring through members of the Under 23 squad and to be a wee bit more incisive with our loans strategy.

Probably more questions than answers for me, but I'd be interested to hear thoughts.

maximoose

Samuel Saiz (with a heap of others) has been arrested in Spain for suspicion of match fixing...

NuckChorris1

J Cheever Loophole wrote: »

Whilst I agree with the sentiments expressed by Conor74, I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts on Radrizzani's long term strategy here.

I always got the impression that Radrizzani was putting a lot of effort and finance (in terms of what he could afford) into Leeds, possibly with a view to getting promotion to the Premier League and then cashing in on a big investment / takeover. The fact therefore that Qatari approaches appear to be being rebuffed is slightly puzzling and it may be due to the fact that what they're offering to him is not appealing enough to sell.

Again, on the basis of what I've been reading, there have been suggestions that he has been in talks with up to potentially six different investors, so the suggestion seems to be that he is open to offers.

And again, trawling through online media, I have read that the intention next year is that there will be no major investment in the squad and that the key will be to sell some existing players off, use the money generated to replace them and to bring through members of the Under 23 squad and to be a wee bit more incisive with our loans strategy.

Probably more questions than answers for me, but I'd be interested to hear thoughts.

I think that he hopes to keep Bielsa and that gives him a good shot at promotion next season with or without a lot of spending. If he goes up he multiplies his investment by 10. If we don't manage it he still has a good asset and probably gets a similar sale value then as now. So he's gambling one more year's losses against the big time. If Bielsa didn't sign on I could see him walking away or selling another big share. He's been very clear that he's not in it for the long haul if we don't get promotion. The way TV money is done in the EFL makes it almost impossible to run a decent Championship team without a loss.

Zaph

Bielsa confirmed for next season!

Ceist_Beag

Thanks Zaph, best news I've heard in a long time!
Now to tie down Phillips, Clarke and Roofe for next season.

Keyzer

Great news, they need to smash out some quality signings (preferably a top striker or two). Get them into Bielsa's methodology early doors ready for the start of the season.

Zaph

Obviously for every bit of good news at Leeds there has to be something to balance it out. Samu Saiz has been arrested/is under investigation (depending on your source) as part of a match fixing ring in Spain. Even if he's not involved, it'll be hard to sell him over the summer unless it all gets sorted very quickly, which I doubt will happen. I'm sure the club were banking on collecting some sort of fee for him to put towards next season.

ETA: Just read that he's helping Spanish police with their investigations in relation to a match from May 2018 involving his previous club, Huesca. He was a Leeds player at the time.

purple hands

That's fantastic news on Bielsa!

Sounds like another grueling pre-season is in store :pac:

YEP
Leeds have committed to further changes to their training ground at Thorp Arch, including the installation of a 1km running track requested by Bielsa, and are ready to meet his demands in the transfer market.

That last bit is crucial though. Club needs to back him and not f*ck up anymore transfers like Dan James. I hope he realises himself that more bodies are needed for next season too.

Zaph

purple hands wrote: »

That last bit is crucial though. Club needs to back him and not f*ck up anymore transfers like Dan James. I hope he realises himself that more bodies are needed for next season too.

To be fair, Swansea were as much to blame for the Daniel James fiasco as Leeds. Yes, we left it far too late in the transfer window to be trying to secure players with no time for a plan B. But you don't expect to have a player at your club ready to sign and have to go home because the board at his current club are fighting among themselves.

purple hands

Zaph wrote: »

To be fair, Swansea were as much to blame for the Daniel James fiasco as Leeds. Yes, we left it far too late in the transfer window to be trying to secure players with no time for a plan B. But you don't expect to have a player at your club ready to sign and have to go home because the board at his current club are fighting among themselves.

Ah yeah fair point. Apparently there were shenanigans from Leeds side on changing the fee structure and timing etc. that prolonged the negotiations, but in the end that one was doomed from the Swansea side anyways.

It's just second nature to assume all failed transfers are the club's fault :pac:

NuckChorris1

Zaph wrote: »

Bielsa confirmed for next season!

Bueno.

Shlippery

Suddenly things don't seem all that bleak!

Bielsa

Carcharodon

Happy days, now to let him bring in a few more players from his managerial disciples around the world

purple hands

Loan deals to be a key part of the transfer strategy according to Adam Pope. There's interest in taking Harrison again. He's a trier and knows the system, but think we need higher quality.

Our loan history is more misses than hits. Bartley's the only decent one in recent years that comes to mind?

J Cheever Loophole

purple hands wrote: »

Loan deals to be a key part of the transfer strategy according to Adam Pope. There's interest in taking Harrison again. He's a trier and knows the system, but think we need higher quality.

Our loan history is more misses than hits. Bartley's the only decent one in recent years that comes to mind?

This was a huge factor in the season just past. Villa had El Ghazi, Abraham and Tyrone Mings on loan and Yannick Boalsie was there until April (I think). I'm open to correction, but our only loan contributor of note was Harrison and he was very hit and miss. The difference in terms of contribution by loan players is absolutely stark.