OPINION
Leeds have one of the best chances to get back in the Premier League since they got relegated in 2004 and Victor Orta must capitalise on the momentum at Elland Road to make the key loan signings manager Marcelo Bielsa needs to see the job through.
Leeds can sign players on loan and free agents until August 31 and with the Premier League window already shut, Leeds flying and Bielsa being raved about by key pundits, it gives Orta a huge opportunity to bag some of the best available players in the next two weeks.
They’ve been linked with Everton’s Matthew Pennington and Liverpool’s Marko Grujic, and Bielsa wants a winger and a midfielder, according to Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Phil Hay.
It’s fair to say that the new manager has exceeded expectations since he came in over the summer.
A very quiet summer window got fans murmuring about how the squad wasn’t good enough to compete in the Championship after plummeting down the table in the second half of last season.
However, he proved them wrong, leaving big-money signing Patrick Bamford on the bench for both of their Championship wins.
And they were emphatic wins, against two of the strongest teams in the league – Stoke and Derby. Since their fast start, Leeds have overtaken Stoke as the bookies favourites to win the title. It’s been some turnaround since they were 22/1 shots over the summer.
But what’s really exciting is how Bielsa has got his Leeds side playing. Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino have said that Bielsa’s philosophy inspired them and you can see both Man City and Tottenham tactics in the way Leeds are playing.
And if you were a manager looking for a Championship club to send a player to, could there really be a better club?
Of course, it comes down to how much game time Leeds can guarantee in some cases, but they want a couple of players and Orta will surely have the pick of the bunch.
Who wouldn’t want their developing players to learn under Bielsa at a big club, with huge support, at the top of the Championship table?
Orta must capitalise on this huge opportunity and make sure he lands the two or three players that will take Leeds all the way to the Championship title.