Football journalist Pete O’Rourke has featured on the latest edition of Touchline Talk to discuss Leeds United’s targets for the upcoming January transfer window.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side find themselves in a tricky situation going into next month’s market as they sit slumped in 15th spot of the Premier League table and just six points clear of the drop zone.
Do Leeds need to sign a midfielder in Jan?
Yes
No
Adding to their problems, the Whites have been hindered by injuries all season long and have been struck by a fresh injury blow with Kalvin Phillips sidelined for an expected lengthy period of time.
The festive period brings a lot of games for Premier League sides and this year is no different as Leeds are scheduled to play five games before the end of the year which could well add to Bielsa’s injury woes.
Discussing the plans at Leeds to search for a potential new midfielder next month, O’Rourke had the following to say on the Yorkshire club:
“From my understanding, the top target right now is a number six holding midfielder as cover for Kalvin Phillips, which is obviously going to be needed now with Phillips looking like he could be out of action until February. So you would worry about Leeds right now being really dragged into this relegation fight.”
TIF Thoughts on Leeds’ transfer plans…
Leeds’ options in central midfield certainly begin to look thin on the ground when you take Phillips out of the equation with just Adam Forshaw, Jamie Shackleton and Mateusz Klich the remaining outright central-midfielders.
And out of the few options left, it would be a risk to depend on Forshaw due to his previous long-term injury issue and Shackleton only has 22 Premier League appearances to his name.
With this in mind, we feel it is absolutely essential for Leeds to invest in their midfield options in January given they could well have to deal with a number of FA Cup fixtures alongside their quest to retain their Premier League status.
Recently there has been speculation about potential investment in the near future from the owners of the San Francisco 49ers, however, we think for this to come to fruition top-flight security could be crucial and adding to their midfield could help provide that.
In other news: ‘Has been mentioned’ – Insider reveals Leeds interest in ‘long-term target’ this January