Speaking recently on The Extra Ball podcast, Leeds United managing director Angus Kinnear discussed the club’s desire to retain their current playing squad ahead of their first Premier League campaign in over a decade.
Following a remarkable season, which saw Leeds win the Championship title having won 28 of their 46 league fixtures, Marcelo Bielsa’s men will be competing in the top-flight of English football for the first time in 16 years next term.
The side had many impressive individual performers, including the likes of Luke Ayling, Pablo Hernandez, Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper, however, it is Leeds United’s desire to keep their team together ahead of next season, rather than sell their most prized assets on for large sums of money this summer – according to the club’s managing director, Angus Kinnear.
Speaking on The Extra Ball podcast, he said: “That’s actually the first plank of this transfer window strategy – no one’s leaving. We’re going to keep the squad together because we think they’re strong enough to compete in the Premier League and I don’t think you ever get credit for that.
“Even the decision – Leeds fans understood it – to extend Pablo [Hernandez’s contract], other people in the football industry are saying ‘hang on a minute, you’re extending the contract of someone who’s in their late-30s?’ Even that proves to be a really good decision.
“A lot of clubs would have been under pressure to put some of the younger players out on loan, but we think that Jamie Shackleton and Pascal Struijk are now Premier League players, and they’re Premier League players because they’ve trained with Marcelo for a year and been in that squad and they’re now ready to step up. I think both of them, particularly Pascal, will surprise people next year in terms of how they’ve developed.”
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TIF Thoughts…
As such, it would appear that Kinnear is of the belief that the Leeds United squad from last season will be retained ahead of their Premier League campaign next term, which, as a fan of Leeds, must be music to your ears.