Leeds United managing director Angus Kinnear has answered why the club left their transfer business so late in the January window as he lifts the lid on what happened behind the scenes at Elland Road.
The Whites ended the winter market with just one new arrival through the door, Kiko Casilla coming in from Real Madrid and immediately taking the place of Bailey Peacock-Farrell in the starting XI.
However, as widely reported, Marcelo Bielsa missed out on the capture of Swansea City’s Dan James on deadline day and Kinnear has spoken out about those questioning why things were not completed sooner.
Speaking to the club’s official programme, as quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post, he said: “While the January window began brightly by securing the services of Kiko Casilla, it ended in rather bizarre circumstances when we became the unwitting victim of internal boardroom politics preventing several months of scouting and negotiation from coming to fruition.
“Supporters have asked why the deal was left so late in the window, which ultimately is the prerogative of the selling club, and why there were no alternative options in place.
“This is down to a combination of the exacting standards Marcelo (Bielsa) and Victor (Orta) applied to selecting players that could immediately improve the current squad and the limited talent pool that is made available in the January transfer window.
“When we analyse the Championship business completed we are satisfied that we haven’t missed any opportunities.”
Opinion
An interesting verdict from the senior Leeds man, who seems to have complete faith in the abilities of both Bielsa and Orta in making sure that the playing squad is as prepared as possible. The fans at Elland Road might not agree that they have enough quality in depth but at least they now know exactly why they did not see any more signings through the door than Casilla. Hopefully for those supporters the club have learned from their mistakes, so to speak, and will try to force the issue more when it comes to the summer market. Of course, there is no knowing right now which division they will be preparing for as they look to seal promotion back to the Premier League and so their plans will be up in the air until they either confirm their spot among the elite of English football or trip over a hurdle keeping them in the second tier. Will this answer from Kinnear satisfy the supporters? Perhaps not, but it is better to hear something rather than nothing.