Leeds United went through the January transfer window without signing a single player, while also loaning out Cody Drameh, who had featured three times in the Premier League this season.
It seemed as though Leeds were very set on landing their number-one target in Brenden Aaronson, however, after they saw a second bid rejected by RB Salzburg, that appeared to be their business done for the window.
Does Bielsa deserve more criticism?
Yes!
No!
Now that the transfer window has slammed shut until the summer, Phil Hay has reported that Leeds turned down the opportunity to enter talks with Donny van de Beek and Harry Winks in January, despite having Kalvin Phillips on the sidelines through injury.
This led to YouTuber and Leeds fan Joe Wainman taking to Twitter to voice his frustrations, claiming that this was not the board’s fault, and that the blame should be placed at the feet of Marcelo Bielsa.
He said: ‘Everyone will slam Orta and co, but for me, they would have liked deals done, and it’s MB who is the one saying no – take the DVB deal he has declined.
‘I think that is madness, but Bielsa is the man, so as always, he gets my backing, and as I’ve always said, we will be fine.’
Bielsa did claim during January that any new signings would only be coming to the club if they were better than what they already had, which suggests he thinks Van de Beek would not have improved a Leeds side that have had to rely on Adam Forshaw this season, with the midfielder fresh off the back of a serious injury.
Van de Beek ended up joining Everton on a temporary basis, and with the Toffees a direct rival to Leeds in the Premier League battle to avoid the drop, it will be interesting to see how the Dutch midfielder gets on and if Bielsa was right to avoid the deal.
In other news: ‘They’ve let Bielsa down’ – Sky Sports man blasts Leeds United