OPINION
When Marcelo Bielsa arrived at Leeds United in June, fans were expecting to see the floodgates open and all the deadwood shipped out of Elland Road to make way for fresh talent.
The mass clearout might not have been as quick as some would have liked but it is very much underway, with Pawel Cibicki’s loan departure to Molde, as confirmed by the Swedish side on Tuesday, the second flop signing from 2017 to exit after Felix Wedwald’s return to Germany.
Pawel Cibicki er klar for Molde FK, se mer info på vår hjemmeside! pic.twitter.com/Iit97TIs6M
— Molde Fotballklubb ? (@Molde_FK) July 3, 2018
The pair will likely not be the only two to leave the Whites this summer and there are many more who are clinging on to their careers at the clubs by the skin of their teeth.
However, if Bielsa wants to clear the books and make room for new arrivals, he is going to have to be brutal over the coming weeks, and there are three attackers who must be in the firing line.
Winger Hadi Sacko was a disappointment in his first season at the club, managing just four assists, and nothing changed after his loan move from Sporting was turned into a permanent deal last summer, with just 14 Championship appearances and not a single goal or assist to show for his efforts.
Selling him on seems an absolute must, and he must be quickly followed by striker Marcus Antonsson, who could hardly cut the mustard for Blackburn Rovers in League One, let alone for Leeds in the Championship.
Like Cibicki, Jay-Roy Grot was a 2017 signing who failed to make the grade last season, but at 20, and with an imposing stature up front, he could still turn out as a decent capture, but needs the game time to develop and grow into English football.
While the other two must be axed for good, sending Grot out on loan, in a bid to judge whether he truly has what it takes, is the way forward for the youngster.