Stan Collymore has boldly claimed that Leeds United managed Marcelo Bielsa may not even make it to January amid concerns about the club taking a major gamble on hiring the Argentine.
Leeds’ transfer activity has been rather slow this summer with Patrick Bamford becoming just the second permanent addition on Tuesday to join Jack Harrison, Barry Douglas, Jamal Blackman and Lewis Baker at the Yorkshire giants.
And Collymore believes that due to Bielsa’s intense style of play, he will need as many options available to him in order to make a solid bid to earn promotion this season.
The former England international has also hinted that the 63-year-old’s age may be a problem for him in his first managerial spell in England.
“There are at least 10, maybe even 12, competitive clubs in the Championship and a lot of them with younger managers who will know how to connect with their players,” said Collymore on the Mirror website.
“Can Bielsa do that, at 63, and does he have the energy and wherewithal to keep at it every day as the Frank Lampards, Gary Rowetts and Darren Moores of this world undoubtedly will do?
“We’ll see what he is made of and I’d like for it to be a success for one of England’s great old clubs.
“But I wouldn’t be at all surprised in January to find that Bielsa and Leeds had already parted company.”
OPINION
Bielsa’s style of football is well-known to the Leeds fans now and many of them are excited to see what the Argentine can whip up at Elland Road as the club aims to return to the Premier League for the first time in well over a decade. While the appointment of him was a major boost to the supporters, the transfer business that has followed has been underwhelming until the last few days. Leeds have only just got Bamford, Douglas and Harrison on board. Will they be ready and up to speed with Bielsa’s demanding tactics before the Championship season kicks off this weekend? Collymore has a point about the squad depth, but his comment about Bielsa struggling to relate to the players due to his age is a bit strange. Someone of his experience and stature will know this already and will surely have plans in place to ensure that the connection between him and the players is strong enough to last a season. But as Collymore has claimed, he doesn’t think it will last half that long.