Colin Murray has urged Leeds United to “intimidate” Marcelo Bielsa into staying at Elland Road after their promotion bid ended with a play-off semi-final defeat to Derby County on Wednesday night.
The Telegraph has reported that Bielsa could now consider his future at Leeds if he is not impressed by the financial implications of missing out on a long-awaited return to the Premier League.
EFL on Quest host Murray has issued a passionate plea to Leeds for them to keep hold of the Argentine into next season.
He also believes that signing a proven goalscorer to spearhead their attack could be key to promotion in 2020.
“Leeds’ season’s over, let’s talk reality,” Murray said on EFL on Quest on Wednesday night [17m46]. “They’re the team that everyone talks about. People love to hate them, the fans are as devout as anything you can find.
“They went from 13th to third this season under Marcelo Bielsa. Looking forward, they’re so close.
“Cement that bucket down, don’t let him out. He’s got a year left, intimidate him if you have to. He’s got to stay.
“The club has just got to act normally over the summer, they’re so close.
“20-goal-a-season striker, a couple of smart signings and this is the team who we will be talking about next season.”
OPINION
Bielsa has done an amazing job at Leeds, even though they missed out on promotion to the Premier League at the penultimate hurdle. Leeds’ squad has hardly changed since the ex-Argentina manager took charge at Elland Road so he has basically gained 10 positions without making too many signings. Of course players like Kiko Casilla, Barry Douglas and Patrick Bamford were signed on permanent deals by the Whites and they would have also added Daniel James in January if it wasn’t for a last-ditch U-turn by Swansea on deadline day. However in the grand scheme of things, the best players for Leeds this term have been the likes of Pontus Jansson, Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips and Pablo Hernandez, all of which were there beforehand. If the Yorkshire giants do sign a few new players like Murray has urged them to, then they could well be in the 2020/21 Premier League.