Phil Hay has been speaking about how Leeds United can go about challenging for spots in Europe going forward.
Last season was a magical one for Leeds United and their supporters as Marcelo Bielsa guided them to a ninth-place finish during their first season in the Premier League for a number of years, however, that wasn’t in front of any fans, and when supporters eventually returned in full this year, they were greeted with a relegation battle.
Can Leeds challenge for Europe next season?
Yes!
No!
The Whites currently find themselves nine points above the bottom three but have played two more games than both Everton and Burnley who are directly below them in the table, so will have to watch on as their relegation rivals play those games in hand over the next few days.
While Leeds are still right in the thick of a relegation battle, Hay has been thinking bigger and towards the future on The Phil Hay Show, as he discussed which club Leeds should look to emulate moving forward.
He said: “The Leicester model is what I think can get you into pretty regular Europa League contention – not so much the Champions League, although Leicester have been pretty close to that.
“They obviously are no longer, they’ve dropped down to ninth, I don’t think they’re going to qualify for Europe this season. Longer-term, I guess the world is your oyster depending on the money you have to spend and the way in which you expand.
“I always kind of feel, looking at the top four, that fourth position – and in certain seasons, third as well – can be attainable for clubs who’ve got it together in the right way.”
TIF Thoughts on Leeds going for Europe…
As things stand, Leeds fans would likely take 17th place in the Premier League come the end of May because of their position and how poor of a season it’s been overall. However, with plans to expand Elland Road and some fans having very fond memories of European nights at the famous ground, it will be hard not to dream of those returning in the future.
Hay pointed towards the Leicester City model for Leeds to follow as they have not spent fortunes of money on players and built a superb training ground, while also selling their best players on at the right time for very big sums of money – particularly Harry Maguire – and then replaced them sufficiently with the likes of Wesley Fofana, who is a young star in the making.
If Leeds are to try and crack into the European spots, they’ll have to be smart as they simply don’t have the financial muscle to challenge the clubs at the top of the table, so recruiting intelligently and maximising the money they get from player sales will be huge for them.
In other news: ‘Massive’ – Phil Hay buzzing over behind-scenes Radrizzani plan at Leeds