Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ALARM BIELS
Boss Marcelo warns fans: The club has already spent a lot of money... we can’t buy way out of this slump
MARCELO BIELSA claims Leeds cannot buy their way out of trouble in January.
Leeds are just one place and two points above the drop zone following their loss to Tottenham and they have managed just two league wins all season.
They have been ravaged by injuries and they were without Patrick Bamford, Rodrigo, Raphinha, Luke Ayling and Robin Koch for their away defeat at Spurs.
Bielsa says fans cannot expect chairman Andrea Radrizzani to get his chequebook out again in January because he has already splashed out over £150million in the last two transfer windows.
He claims Leeds would have to fork out between £20m and £30m to get the calibre of player they would want and has hinted they have not budgeted for such a big spend in January.
“It’s normal to demand an investment in the team,” said the Leeds head coach (above).
“But players have a value for any position, which costs us a minimum between £20m and £30m.
“So in an institution like Leeds, that has invested a lot on players in the second year and also the third year, to imagine that we could increase the power of our professional group, it shouldn’t be evaluated without looking at the economic implications.”
Bielsa refuses to panic in the face of Leeds’ poor start and believes their form will improve when their injured players return.
Raphinha missed the trip to north London through illness and should be back for Saturday’s clash with Brighton, while Rodrigo was sidelined by a foot injury, which is not thought to be serious.
“Hopefully we can resolve this with the recovery of the players that are absent and it is also by chance that the injuries that we have picked up are mainly for players that play in the same position,” added Bielsa.