Leeds Utd: What are Leeds United still looking for in the transfer market?

Yorkshire Evening Post

Is Leeds United's transfer strategy cause for concern? We dive into the club's approach to new signings and what it means for their Premier League survival bid.  The panel discusses Leeds United's transfer activity, comparing it to previous years and examining the pressure to recruit effectively. Discover why fans are anxious about the lack of new players and the critical need for a top-tier goalkeeper.  Find out why consensus is taking longer than expected and the potential impact on the team's preparation for the upcoming season. Will Leeds United secure the signings they need in time?  #LeedsUnited #TransferNews #PremierLeague #Soccer

Transcript

00:00Graeme, it has been quite a while

00:01since a new player came in through the doors

00:04at Thorbarch or on the road.

00:08What does this say about the strategy

00:10around the ownership

00:13and the way that they're dealing with transfers,

00:16particularly at this stage

00:19with promotion and the move up into the Premier League?

00:23What are you taking from this kind of,

00:27I say slow process,

00:28but I think there's probably a better way of putting it.

00:31I would say it's very reminiscent

00:34of how they've worked in the past.

00:35I was actually looking back earlier

00:37at some of my notes

00:39and some of the pieces that I wrote around this time last year

00:41when we were going to Germany for the training camp

00:43and there was a bit of panic in the fan base

00:46because they hadn't done more work.

00:48Bogle hadn't quite got through the door yet.

00:51Tanaka was a very late window signing.

00:54I think they had Rothwell in

00:55and everyone was really underwhelmed by that

00:56because he just seemed like a squad signing.

00:58No one really had any inclination

01:00of how good he was going to be

01:01and everyone was a little bit impatient.

01:04Everything was being done on the quiet

01:05as the 49ers like to do it.

01:07And yeah, there was a bit of panic

01:09and a bit of tension in the air.

01:10Fast forward 12 months,

01:11here we are again.

01:13Leeds have got players through the door so far.

01:15But because of the sheer scale of the work they need to do,

01:20I think people are impatient or worried

01:25or however you want to describe it.

01:27But we know that the 49ers work to a plan

01:30and they don't tend to panic

01:32and they don't tend to be very reactive with stuff.

01:35And I guess they felt like

01:39they were getting close with Longstaff

01:40so that would be one done.

01:42I guess they feel like Stack is still progressing

01:44and there's still life in that

01:45so they thought they'd get that one done.

01:47And you get those two in

01:48and then suddenly the noise dies down a little bit

01:50and the panic dies down.

01:52People are still going to clamour for the striker.

01:54They're going to want the left winger.

01:55They're going to want a 10.

01:57They're definitely going to want a goalkeeper.

01:58That's where I think a lot of the kind of

02:00current worry is externally

02:02that they haven't got that signing in place yet.

02:05What we know of that

02:06is that it has taken Leeds longer

02:09to get everybody on the same page

02:11and to get a consensus on who it is exactly

02:13and what it is exactly they want

02:15from a keeper this summer.

02:16With other positions,

02:18they had targets, I think,

02:19and shortlists that were fully formed

02:22far, far earlier

02:23than when it came to the goalkeeper.

02:26I remember last summer

02:27when Angus Kinnear talked about

02:29the healthy tension, he called it,

02:31about the transfer strategy

02:33and what he was referring to

02:35was suspicions that Daniel Farker

02:36wasn't happy with some of the options

02:38that he'd been given

02:38and there was some back and forth

02:40and he wanted to wait on Emi Buendia

02:42and go back in for Buendia again

02:43and the club weren't altogether keen on that

02:46and et cetera, et cetera.

02:48Kinnear summed it up as healthy tension

02:50that he thinks always exists

02:51between a recruitment department and a manager.

02:54What we're hearing is

02:55there's been a lot less of that this summer.

02:56There's been a lot more agreement,

02:58a lot more in accordance,

03:00but when it comes to a goalkeeper,

03:02there's been a bit more of a spirited debate,

03:04shall we say,

03:04and that's perhaps why

03:05they haven't got one in just yet.

03:07But you can kind of see

03:09the club's point of view

03:09that there's still weeks to go

03:11before the start of the season.

03:12At the same time,

03:14they start the training camp

03:14next week in Germany.

03:16Farker will want the building blocks in place

03:18so that they can really build the foundations

03:19for a survival bid.

03:21Every manager wants the bulk

03:22of their new signings in

03:23for at least the training camp

03:25and the bulk of their friendlies.

03:27So, yeah, there's a bit of work to be done yet.

03:31We very often in the summer

03:33kind of not try to play down

03:36or pour water on people's worries

03:39or tensions around transfers.

03:41You know, we sometimes kind of

03:43will often do a story saying,

03:45you know, this is a process

03:47that things have to go through

03:48from the recruitment,

03:50you know, identifying players

03:52before you get to the point

03:54where, you know,

03:55they're holding up the shirt

03:56on the Elm Road pitch.

03:59But it's fair to say

04:01this time around

04:02there probably should be genuine concerns

04:05compared to last year

04:07where, you know,

04:08they've got close to promotion.

04:09There was only really a couple of tweaks

04:11that were needed.

04:13Obviously, you know,

04:14a few players left

04:16because of the contracts that were on

04:19and a few came back in.

04:21So there was a bit of difference

04:24between last season.

04:25This year,

04:27it's very, very obvious

04:28that they need to recruit

04:30and they need to recruit really well

04:32before they end up being,

04:35you know,

04:35Sheffield United

04:36or Ipswich

04:37or any of those other teams

04:39who have come straight back down

04:41over the past few years.

04:43Yeah, absolutely.

04:44I mean,

04:44a balanced view is that

04:46you don't want to rush into anything

04:48and you want to make sure

04:49you get the right players.

04:51But at the same time,

04:52you cannot afford

04:52to get off to a bad start

04:53in the Premier League,

04:54not as a team that is,

04:56and let's make no bones about it,

04:58no one at Leeds United

04:59is talking about anything

05:00other than 15th, 16th

05:02being an absolute triumph

05:04of a season,

05:05you know, next season.

05:05And it would buck the trend recently

05:07of newly promoted sides

05:09being fish out of water,

05:11floundering all season

05:12and just getting smacked

05:14about the place

05:14left, right and centre.

05:16Leeds are trying to be realistic

05:18and they're trying to sign players

05:21that they think will help them dig in

05:23and be difficult to beat,

05:25be good in the air,

05:26be good at defending set pieces,

05:27good at attacking set pieces

05:28that will actually lay a glove

05:30on opposition teams

05:31when the opposition has the ball,

05:32which a lot of times last season

05:34the bottom three did not do that.

05:37You know, they weren't intense enough,

05:38they didn't press enough,

05:39they weren't nasty enough.

05:40Russell Martins talked about it.

05:41He says that one of his mistakes

05:42was not getting that kind of nastiness

05:44and physicality in

05:45into the summer

05:46or into the tactics,

05:48making first contact quicker.

05:50Leeds are being realistic

05:51and trying to put a team together

05:52to do that.

05:54But I completely understand

05:55why supporters are concerned

05:57when you don't have

05:57your goalkeeper in yet.

05:58Now, a goalkeeper

06:00I don't think

06:02needs as much adaptation time

06:04to a team's tactical setup

06:05as a number 10 would

06:07or as a number 8 would.

06:09You know, his positioning

06:10is almost entirely game dependent,

06:13you know,

06:13depending on where the ball is

06:14on the pitch.

06:15That's where he's going to be

06:16positioning himself

06:17to be prepared for.

06:18There's two types of goalkeepers now.

06:20Yeah, if they're going to play the ball

06:21and they play it from the back,

06:23you want a player who's,

06:25you want a goalkeeper

06:25who can do that.

06:26And if you're not,

06:28it doesn't matter.

06:29So that's your two real options

06:32there really, isn't it?

06:33I mean, yeah,

06:34it'd be nice to get an all-rounder

06:35who can actually,

06:36who can spray a pass,

06:37but ultimately Leeds need

06:39a shot stopper.

06:40They need someone

06:41who's very, very good

06:42at dealing with crosses.

06:44Someone who's going to give

06:45the back four

06:45a lot of confidence.

06:47He's going to face

06:48high quality shots,

06:49high quality chances.

06:51So he needs to be,

06:51the shot stopping

06:52is the number one thing

06:53I think for me

06:53that they need from a keeper

06:55this summer.

06:58But there's maybe

06:59not the same panic

07:00and rush

07:00to get that player in

07:02as there would be

07:03a 10

07:05or a striker

07:06or these midfielders

07:07that they're trying to get.

07:08They feel like

07:09really important ones

07:10to do.

07:12And, you know,

07:13when it comes to a striker,

07:13they still think that

07:14Rodrigo Meniz

07:15of Fulham

07:16is a deal

07:17that will be there

07:18to be done.

07:19You know,

07:19Fulham have been,

07:20they've been quite clear

07:23that they wouldn't sell

07:24or they wouldn't sell

07:25for any amount of money.

07:26But I think

07:28there's a feeling

07:28at Leeds

07:29that things might change

07:30and that there will be

07:31an opportunity there.

07:33And you can read

07:35between the lines often

07:36in transfer situations,

07:38a club like Leeds

07:39would not still be

07:40going after this

07:41sign-in

07:42if they didn't think

07:43or hadn't had

07:44some encouragement

07:45that the player

07:45would be open to it.

07:47So there's maybe

07:48a bit of wiggle room

07:48there as well.

07:49There's maybe

07:49a little bit of pressure

07:50that can be exerted

07:51on the other end

07:51of the deal.

07:53That's one that you'd

07:54like to see

07:54a little bit more

07:55movement on,

07:56a bit more noise

07:57about in the coming days

07:59because in a week's time

08:01they'll be almost

08:04midway through

08:04their training camp

08:05and heading towards

08:06the second friendly.

08:09They'll play three

08:10friendlies in total

08:11by the end of

08:12the Germany trip

08:13and then they're

08:14looking at Villarreal

08:14at home.

08:15At some point

08:16you really want to

08:17have your starters

08:18in place

08:19so that they can

08:19actually gel

08:20a little bit

08:21before they play

08:22Everton at Ellen Road.

08:24I have a theory

08:25on that deal

08:27with Fulham

08:28that is

08:29completely without

08:31any

08:32credence

08:33apart from

08:34my own thoughts

08:35on it.

08:35They're

08:36in the market

08:37for another striker

08:38and my

08:39feeling is

08:40that they're

08:41potentially concerned

08:42that

08:43when they go in

08:44for

08:44any of those strikers

08:46players

08:46that the opposing

08:47team

08:48know that

08:50they've got

08:50£20 million

08:51extra in their

08:52back pocket

08:53having sold

08:54or 30

08:55or 35

08:57or whatever

08:58it may be.

09:00So I think

09:01there's a possibility

09:02that they want to

09:02get somebody

09:03through the door

09:03first so that

09:04they don't have

09:04so they don't

09:08get ripped off

09:08themselves

09:09in trying to

09:09bring somebody

09:10in.

09:10So we'll wait

09:11and see what

09:11happens there.

09:13I absolutely

09:13think that is a

09:14factor.

09:15You quite often

09:15hear when you

09:17talk to people

09:17at football clubs

09:18during the summer

09:18there's a reticence

09:20to discuss fees

09:21quite a lot of

09:21the time when it

09:22comes to the

09:23money coming in

09:24because they're

09:25worried that

09:26everyone thinks

09:26well Leeds have

09:27got loads of

09:28money we can

09:28hike the price

09:29up.

09:30It often feels

09:31like there's a

09:31little bit of

09:32a Leeds tax

09:32going on in

09:33the market

09:33or there has

09:34been in recent

09:35years when

09:36they've been

09:36quoted for

09:37certain players.

09:38So I could

09:40well see a

09:40situation where

09:41Fulham want to

09:41make sure they've

09:42got a replacement

09:43in.

09:43First of all

09:44for their squad

09:45to make sure

09:46they're covered

09:46but also so that

09:47they don't end up

09:48paying over the

09:48odds.

09:48I could well

09:49see that.

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