Phil Hay has been speaking about Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa’s interest in John Swift.
If Leeds United are to be active in the January transfer window they may well have to look at players who are from a division below, looking to prove themselves or nearing the end of their contract as the club have spent just shy of £150 million since they returned to the Premier League.
Could Bielsa be sacked by Leeds?
Yes!
No!
Even if the Leeds board can only hand Bielsa one or two players for a small combined total, it may well be the difference between fighting relegation all season and being able to survive comfortably, and they don’t have to be superstars, just ones that could plug holes until their regular first-team players return from injury.
Someone who fits that bill, and is coming to the end of his contract is John Swift from Reading with the midfielder proving himself to be a creative force in the Championship and perhaps ready for that step up into the top flight, with reports claiming that could be the case in January.
Speaking on The Phil Hay Show, Hay himself described how Bielsa likes Swift and that cheaper deals could be the sort of January for Leeds.
(49:38) “There probably are players out there who are quite cost-effective and Swift seems to me to be in that category of players who if they do like can’t be that expensive.”
TIF Thoughts on Leeds wanting Swift…
The Reading midfielder has spent a lot of time on the sidelines recently with hamstring injuries, but this season it does not look to have affected him in the slightest having netted eight goals and registered nine assists for a Royals side that are fighting against relegation.
Swift, who is valued at £5.4 million (as per Transfermarkt), would likely be a player willing to bide his time and prove he’s good enough to compete with the likes of Adam Forshaw and Kalvin Phillips for a spot in a Premier League midfield, while also not costing a lot of money given his contractual situation and also, Reading’s financial situation they find themselves in.
In other news: ‘The important thing to say here is’ – Phil Hay drops big Bielsa situation update at Leeds