Bielsa must open his chequebook
MARCELO BIELSA will not change how Leeds play in the Premier League. He doesn’t strike me as the type to be sidetracked from what he believes in, and nor should he.
High-energy football has won the club promotion in the first place and gives them the best chance of staying up. Chris Wilder has shown at Sheffield United there is nothing wrong with trusting a system and personnel to work at a higher level.
But that doesn’t mean Leeds can be naive and not strengthen their squad in order to be competitive in the top flight.
Sheffield United have almost been a one-off, an extreme version of making very few changes from the Championship, but even they bought a couple of fresh strikers, Lys Mousset and Oli McBurnie, who had both played Premier League football.
And they added a wealth of experience into the dressing room with Phil Jagielka, despite him not being a starter. You cannot underestimate the impact Jags would have had on the lads around him.
The trick for Bielsa is to find the right players without detracting from what he has got. Ideally, Leeds will bring in some Premier League knowhow this summer, and those players will compete for first-team spots.
Though Sheffield United have been phenomenal, clubs usually struggle if they have too many players untried and untested at the top level. It cost Fulham when they were relegated last season and Norwich have just suffered the same fate. When Aston Villa made a lot of signings last summer, not enough were proven in this country.
Leeds have a terrific crop of young players headed by Kalvin Phillips. Jack Harrison and Ben White have excelled on loan and hopefully Leeds can keep them. But the top flight is unforgiving and those young lads will need calm heads around them during the difficult times.
Adam Lallana, out of contract at Liverpool, would be perfect. Great energy, good footballer, good attitude. Danny Rose is a Leeds boy. He’s been a top left-back for a long time. Maybe he will want to go home.
Up front, I like Patrick Bamford but he has struggled a little bit at Premier League level in the past. They are going to have a look at a striker to help him.
None of this means tearing up the Bielsa playbook or the current squad, far from it. I like coaches who develop players and do not moan because they cannot go into the transfer market every week. Mauricio Pochettino, who attributes Bielsa as a mentor, improved individuals at Tottenham and Bielsa has made his players better at Elland Road.
He believes in his ability on the training pitch. You can see the determination with which Leeds play and that comes from the manager. I think it’s refreshing and I’m fascinated how this coach with a global reputation copes with the next challenge.
I’ve got an added personal interest in Leeds. My girlfriend lives in the city and I’ve spent a fair amount of time there over the last couple of years and grown to understand the passion for football.
Everywhere you go there are Leeds shirts. Even the ladies walking their dogs wear one. I had to laugh on Thursday night after Leeds had beaten Barnsley seeing some chap on his way out of the Co-op with his cans, clearly celebrating. Before lockdown, if I went into the city centre, people would want to stop and chat about football, you could tell they really cared. It reminded me of Liverpool in many ways and something I have probably missed a bit down south. That fantastic following is one of the reasons the Premier League will love having Leeds back. When I played, the atmosphere at Elland Road was like Merseyside derbies at Goodison. I scored against Leeds at Anfield the season they were relegated from the Premier League in 2003-04. It was my first game back after a little injury so I was keen to get into the swing of things. Fortunately for me, Paul Robinson made an awful mistake from my free-kick. I didn’t score many lucky ones so I was glad to take the favour. I later played with Robbo at Spurs but never mentioned that goal. Leeds had sold some good players but still had a lot left, Mark Viduka, Alan Smith, Gary Kelly, a young James Milner. I think we were surprised they went down. But you could see the confidence draining away towards the end of the season. I didn’t expect them to be away for 16 years. I cannot wait to see them and Bielsa back in the big time.