OPINION
It’s not easy to get out of the Championship.
It’s a tough, competitive league and with just two automatic spots up for grabs and plenty of teams capable of challenging for them, only the strongest will survive.
West Brom went into the game against Leeds in awful form but bucked the trend and dished out Leeds’ worst defeat of the Marcelo Bielsa reign.
There’s no need to panic. It’s one game and Leeds are still third in the league and ahead of West Brom.
But they seriously need to think about strengthening in January. Despite Bielsa saying he’s happy with his squad, Leeds need more attacking options, and there’s one player who fits the bill and is going to be available on loan – Man City’s Patrick Roberts.
He spent two seasons at Celtic where the fans fell in love with him.
This season hasn’t worked out so well though. The £10k-a-week player has only made two league starts at Girona and is set to cut his loan spell there short.
He will then look for a fresh loan in January according to the Sunday Mirror (Nov 11, p68), with PSV Eindhoven reported to be thinking about a move for him for the rest of the season. Bielsa should make sure Leeds are at the head of the queue.
With all the will in the world, Roberts is not going to make it at Man City.
The squad they’ve got is astonishing and a permanent move away is the best thing that can happen to the 21-year-old.
However, that is unlikely to happen until the summer and in the meantime Roberts needs a new home.
He would shine in the Championship and his versatility – he can play on either flank or as an attacking midfielder – would give Bielsa serious attacking options.
Pep Guardiola and Bielsa have a good relationship – and it should be good enough to get past any reservations the City boss has about how Jack Harrison is faring at Leeds.
Roberts is a class above Harrison though and shouldn’t struggle for game time. He could be just what leeds need to kick-on in the second-half of the season and finally secure promotion back to the Premier League.