Leeds United oriented journalist Phil Hay has recently talked about Andrea Radrizzani’s ‘realistic’ plan for the Elland Road-based outfit.
Hay appeared as a guest on the latest episode of The Phil Hay Show and the panel discussed multiple issues involving the Whites. One topic of discussion was the club’s future plans and what Radrizzani has planned for in the future. Hay made it clear that the club owner feels that Leeds can compete with teams around the Europa League spot in the next five to seven years.
Marcelo Bielsa’s men head into the weekend in 12th position in the Premier League and they are as many as 13 points clear of 18th-placed Fulham. The Whites are also only seven points behind sixth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and 15 points behind leaders Manchester City (as per BBC Sport).
Can Leeds finish inside the top six in the next three years?
Yes
No
Hay revealed the plans for the club that Radrizzani believes are ‘realistic’ for a longer-term approach at Elland Road.
He said: “I think Radrizzani is realistic enough to know that it’s highly unlikely that he’s going to be able to push this to the point where Leeds are able to match [the level of the Manchester clubs and Liverpool], but what they can do is they can get to a level where they can compete with the clubs who realistically should be going for Europa League football, who realistically should be in that little pack outside the Champions League places – but he did say that in his view, it will take 3-5 years, if not 5-7 years. You know, this is not going to be an overnight click of the fingers.”
TIF Thoughts on Hay’s comments about Radrizzani’s plans…
Considering the gap that exists in terms of points between Leeds and the current top six in the table, there is still work to be done by the Whites if they want to compete with the top six.
Perhaps they should start with adding more depth to the team, especially considering that Bielsa’s style places a lot of physical demands on the players. They currently have three fit senior-level centre-backs and only Kalvin Phillips is their senior out-and-out defensive midfielder. Jamie Shackleton and Mateusz Klich are their only primary central midfield options (as per Transfermarkt).
So the team potentially needs more alternatives and to sustain Bielsa’s approach, Radrizzani might have to spend and help the manager add more depth to the team.