Speaking recently on TalkSPORT’s GameDay podcast, former Leeds United striker Jermaine Beckford revealed that he believes Marcelo Bielsa has been the club’s ‘best signing in a long time’.
The Argentine manager took over at Leeds in July 2018, following a season in which the club had finished in 13th place in the Championship table, losing 20 of their 46 league fixtures that term.
However, in his first season in charge, Bielsa immediately turned the club’s fortunes around, guiding the Whites to a third-placed finish, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion, but securing a play-off position.
Although the club eventually failed to beat Derby County in the play-off semi-final, it was a marked improvement on their previous campaign, and general opinion seemed to be that Bielsa would take the club one step further in their 2019/20 campaign.
And that he did. Following Wednesday’s 4-0 thumping of Charlton Athletic, Bielsa’s side ensured that they finished top of the Championship table by a 10 point margin, ending a 16-year exile from the Premier League in style.
And, speaking recently on the GameDay podcast, former Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford stated his belief that Bielsa has been the best signing Leeds have made for a long time.
He said: “When I first heard Bielsa was signing for Leeds United, to lead Leeds from the Championship to the Premier League, I couldn’t believe it.
“He is one of the managers that some of the biggest and best managers in the world look up to and learn a lot from – Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola, just to name a few, have got nothing but positive things to say about him.
“They said he’s the best manager they’ve ever worked under. His level of scrutiny of the game is unrivalled, his obsession with the game – there’s no one like him. So to hear that he wanted to come to Leeds United, in itself was, for me, the best signing in a long time.”
TIF Thoughts…
With Leeds finally going on to secure Premier League football after a 16-year wait, it will certainly be interesting to see how Bielsa’s approach to the game fares in a competition of a higher standard than the Championship.
Would you class Marcelo Bielsa as one of Leeds United's all time greats?
Yes
No
And, regarding Beckford’s declaration that Bielsa is the best signing Leeds have made in recent memory, after what the Argentine has already achieved at the club in just two years, it is extremely hard to suggest otherwise.