Former Arsenal star and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has said that Leeds United are “crying out” for some experience in their side in their promotion hunt.
The Whites have been pushing for a top two finish under Marcelo Bielsa this season with the Argentine boss calling upon a number of young talents due to a number of factors, primarily injury problems suffered during the season at Elland Road.
With the club’s youngest ever starting XI coming against QPR – the players averaging an age of just 22.4-years-old – Merson believes that some experience is an absolute must moving forward.
He told Sky Sports’ The Debate (18/02, 22:00): “They are crying out for a bit of experience in the team, I think they’re a young team because they have to play a certain way and you’re not going to be able to play that way at 30-odd years of age.
“I still think they need that 30-year-old in there just to calm everybody down. I watched them a few times and it’s hectic.”
Opinion
Leeds fans will be loving seeing their young stars emerge from the youth system and into the first team but Merson makes a good point about the value of experience. There are a couple of wily old heads among the squad at Elland Road but there is no questioning that the Whites are relying heavily on youth to make the difference in this title battle. They will never have experienced pressure as intense as what is on the shoulders of the club right now and so those who have been there and done it will have to guide them through the rigours of the hunt for the Championship trophy. Obviously there is nothing that can be done between now and the end of the season but when the summer transfer window comes around some proven talents should be at the top of Bielsa’s shortlist of potential signings, regardless of which division they sit in next August.