Leeds United made a remarkably successful return to the Premier League last year as they finished in the top half of the table in their first season back.
But now, Marcelo Bielsa’s men face the big challenge of matching or even surpassing their ninth-place finish in their second season.
That will require some smart and substantial investment in the squad during the summer transfer window. The recruitment process has already begun with the big capture of left-back Junior Firpo from Barcelona and other acquisitions, but more signings must be made to address other areas of need.
SBOTOP takes an in-depth look at Leeds’ top transfer needs heading into the season, while throwing out some potential targets they could go after to fill those spots.
Backup centre-forward
Leeds likely wouldn’t have finished as high as they did without the goals of Patrick Bamford. After several disappointing spells in the top flight with different clubs, Bamford finally proved he was Premier League quality as he scored 17 goals, tied for fourth in the league, and had seven assists.
However, Leeds were also fortunate that Bamford was fit to play all 38 games last season, with 37 starts. And even if Bamford does avoid injury once again this year, Bielsa would be wise to give his star striker a rest once in a while. But to do that, he must improve his attacking options behind Bamford.
Record signing Rodrigo Moreno had an impressive end to the season with four goals in his last four games, but he has not exactly been a prolific goalscorer in his career. Tyler Roberts and Ian Poveda-Ocampo were Bielsa’s go-to options off the bench, but they scored just one goal between them all season.
Ideally, Leeds could do with adding a veteran striker who would be happy to back up Bamford and provide Leeds with a traditional target man late in games. Fernando Llorente – a former Bielsa favourite at Athletic Bilbao – or Olivier Giroud would be perfect for that role, although the latter is apparently AC Milan-bound.
But as may clubs have found out, capable forwards are hard to come by, so Leeds may have to set their sights toward more realistic targets like Eddie Nketiah. The 22-year-old striker, who is potentially on his way out at Arsenal, had a reasonably decent loan spell with Leeds in 2019-20, scoring five goals in 19 appearances. Bielsa called him a ‘complete player’ and can also play out on the wing if needed.
Third winger
As important as Bamford was to Leeds’ success last season, wingers Raphinha and Jack Harrison were not far behind. Harrison was second on the team in both goals (8) and assists (8) and Raphinha had six goals and a team-best (9) assists as he emerged as one of the top new signings of the season.
After numerous loan spells, Leeds have finally signed Harrison on a permanent deal, and he will produce his fair share of Premier League 2021 highlights. But the Whites need much more behind them this season. Their primary backup, Helder Costa, was a bit of a disappointment as he fell off after a promising start.
Leeds have already signed teenager Amari Miller from Birmingham, although he is not expected to contribute right away.
Meanwhile, they have been linked with Denmark’s Mikkel Damsgaard, who impressed during Euro 2020 and could raise Leeds’ Premier League 2021 odds of a higher finish. But they now face stiff competition from bigger clubs who could also bump his price up.
Leeds have also been linked with young wingers from lower leagues – Rangers’ Ryan Kent and Club Brugge’s Noa Lang to name a few – which are more attainable and affordable targets.
Young central midfielder
Leeds tried and failed to bring in another central midfielder last summer. Rodrigo De Paul – now of Atletico Madrid – was a reported target that didn’t come to fruition, while the deal for Bayern Munich’s Michael Cuisance unfortunately fell apart late.
Luckily, the emergence of Stuart Dallas helped fill that void in the middle of the park. But with Dallas and Mateusz Klich now in their 30s, Bielsa will be keen to add some younger legs and a bit more creativity in the middle of the park to help England star Kalvin Phillips.
Leeds have signed promising attacking midfielder Sean McGurk from Wigan, and Huddersfield Town’s Lewis O’Brien has also emerged as a hot name. While both are exciting prospects who can grow in time, Leeds would do well to add a more proven and experienced midfielder to provide cover for Dallas and Klich amid another long and gruelling Premier League campaign.
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