When Danny Mills sat down and spoke exclusively to Football Insider, he had some words of warning for Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa.
Mills was talking about Bielsa’s reluctance to add players in his squad mid-season, which he hopes doesn’t turn into a repeat of last season.
When speaking to Football Insider, the pundit said: “We know Bielsa doesn’t like adding people to his squad midway through a season. He wants players to come in, they have to know the way that he plays, the levels he expects, the fitness levels.” Clearly Bielsa’s training techniques mean that any new signing will have to learn to train his way, which could take some time when you’re being thrown into ‘Murderball‘ on your first day at your new surroundings.
How many signings will Leeds make in January?
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“That was why he didn’t really bring anybody in last January which I still think is a little bit of a mistake – maybe he’s learned this time around.” However, perhaps, Bielsa has learned and has identified areas of his squad in where he can improve them this January? The Whites have already been linked with Matej Vydra – with an Italian news source has claimed the deal is done – maybe the Peacocks manager is perhaps preparing in case Eddie Nketiah is recalled.
Leeds will definitely need to strengthen the squad if they are to push for promotion this season, as it’s likely all of their rivals will at least do one or two deals just to freshen the squad up a little bit. The striker position is certainly a talking point for Bielsa.
If for some reason Vydra doesn’t join the club and Nketiah then gets recalled, the Peacocks would have only one striker in Patrick Bamford, although others may be able to fill in like Helder Costa or Jack Harrison, but surely the Leeds manager would want a natural centre-forward instead of a stand-in.
Verdict
Bielsa would likely need one or two young players on loan and then a more seasoned permanent signing. It’s also important to remember that anyone signed will also follow them to the Premier League, should Leeds gain promotion this season. We would get the much-talked-about Vydra deal across the line, then maybe look at a couple of Premier League youngsters to come in as backups, just in case of injuries or suspensions later on in the year.