Football journalist Conor McGilligan has claimed that the current Leeds United bench is ‘arguably is one of the worst’ in Premier League history.
During Leeds’ recent Premier League defeat last weekend, the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper, Patrick Bamford, Pascal Struijk, Robin Koch and Rodrigo were all absent due to injury.
As a result of all these fitness issues, a number of inexperienced squad players have made up the bench of late. For instance, against Chelsea, youngsters such as Jack Jenkins and Liam McCarron were named as substitutes, while 19-year-old Joe Gelhardt, arguably one of the more senior backup options, came off the bench and even scored a goal.
Will Max Dean be a senior star at Leeds one day?
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While discussing the matter on his YouTube channel, McGilligan said: “I think the bench at the minute, and I will say this, is a disgrace.
“And listen, a lot of you might say: ‘Disgrace, Conor? That’s harsh.’ I mean, just in terms of quality. There’s barely a Premier League cap between them.
“It arguably is one of the worst benches in Premier League history. And that’s no slight on the youngsters at all. You know, they’ve barely played.”
TIF Thoughts on Leeds United and their squad…
Taking everything that McGilligan says into account, it does sound as if Leeds may well have to invest in the January transfer market just to help bolster their squad with a few more experienced options.
One player who has been linked with a possible move to the Premier League club has been Blackburn Rovers and Chile star Ben Brereton Diaz.
Injuries have restricted key striker Bamford to just six league starts this season, so that certainly would be one position to strengthen.
Perhaps if the club can spend wisely this winter, their bench will no longer be such a ‘disgrace’.
In other news: ‘From my understanding’ – Insider sheds light on Bielsa’s ‘top target’ for Leeds in January