A bit late as been in bed all day but feeling a smidge better and actually enjoying a glass of Merlot. International breaks are crap and are making Bielsa’s job much harder this season because he cant get his boys together and those that are still around are on a bit of a break this week. We have had plenty of the kids playing for the respective countries, and last night Bielsa went to Chesterfield to see 3 of his lads put Italy to sword in the U20 game. Lewis Bate scored the England goal and had an all round top game. The goal was made by Drameh and assisted by Greenwood. Bate limped off near the end so will be back at TA on the treatment table. A good result 1-1 draw. Joffy was with England U21s and never got on the pitch. The new U21 manager Lee Carsley is a dick and threw away a 2-0 lead. Main talking points this week: Phil Hay has today said he has no doubt that Radz will sell to the 49ers at some stage and Peter Lowey will also be involved. The 49ers already own 37% of the club. What Hay didnt say however is that Radz will not sell until he has started building the Leeds Utd Group, which means purchasing other football clubs. Salernitano was almost bought in the Summer and he is still the only offer on the table and the Salernitano fans are begging him to buy it. 49ers are a £45 billion business so the club will be in safe hands. On top of that Peter Lowey is a real Leeds fan from Australia and one of the best large building developers in the world. Westfield Shopping Malls all over the world and he builds stadiums and his main role is redevelopment of ER. By the way his father is Australias 5th richest man and over there are a few people who own gold fields, copper mines, vast coalfields etc. So having a very rich dad on top of all ghe wealth Peter himself has, makes me think Newcastle may not be that rich after all. It looks like the 17yo “Pearl” Mateo Joseph Fernandes has actually agreed to join Leeds Utd and will be here in January of even before, as Espanyol have thrown him out of training owing to refusing to sign a new contract. Leeds have agreed to pay €850k to get him now as the kid told his club he is walking for free in the summer. This kid was wanted by City, Liverpool, Utd, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletico….. he has scored over 100 goals for Espanyol in all age groups….lets also eemember that Spain beat Italy the other night with another 17yo showing the world how good he is, Gavi what a player. Wonder when Bielsa will give Joffy his head? Firpo is being helped in his training of Bielsaball by Rodrigo who went through a huge learning curve himself. He is assisted by Raphinha and Llorente, plus Dan James and Jack Harrison as on the left parters. He had a great game against Watford and snuffed out Sarr. Hes going to be good.
Just read an Interview with the England U20 manager who says when the Leeds Utd boys attend camp you can see a lift and the way the Leeds lads apply themselves is a testament to Bielsa
Nice one Doc Slightly over indulged last night with a St Emillion so have reined it in a little tonight. Unusual for me on a Friday but an early start tomorrow for Jammy jnr's U15's match followed by York races and then it will be gloves off round town later. Have a good weekend everyone
I know its early days but the barcode fans really do need a realty check. Latest gossip is Mbappe and Harry Kane to Newcastle in January. List of the worlds best coaches all clamouring to get up to the arctic weather in January.
The case against Leeds Utd and Big Kev failed transfer from Leipzig will take place in the New Year at the Sports Arbitration Court in Switzerland. Before we get into heated arguments about the rights and wrongs, lets just remember that this player hasnt played 90 minutes since 2019. Indeed since playing 48 minutes in total for Leeds spread over 3 sub appearances he hasnt done anything and is banished to train with the academy kids at Nantes because he is unfit to play. He made 2 sub appearances when he joined Nantes and then sent away as not suitable, ready, or in any cindition.
Great threaded ball from Wilson. We could have done a lot worse than to sign Harry Wilson. He cost Fulham 12m.
Not around much yesterday but was Tyler Roberts playing? Or have the Welsh fans not forgiven him for his last match yet.
A poor International team and he struggles to get in the team? Mind you 18 appearances and no goals sums it up. Maybe one day his duck will be broken and goals will flood in like some think? Dan James however is the best player in Wales
On the Tyler Roberts debate I got a call earlier today where I was told to expect Roberts going out on loan to a Championship club, in January unless he sorts his end product fast. Bielsa is aware that he is holding back Gelhardt and noises are getting louder for him to get a chance. Yes it maybe total bollox but it does make sense? Costa and Poveda were let go as no improvements happened?
Perhaps we could strike a similar deal that we did with Wolves for Costa. Loam him ,on the basis that if they get promoted they pay in excess of the player's worth.
Newcastle have put themselves in the 75m - 100m purchase range overnight! If an offer came in for Raph in January for 75m would we be stupid to ignore it? We have more than enough wingers, and we're desperate for a central midfielder and a second striker. If Gelhardt is going to break into the first team, he needs to get game time now!!!! Our only recognised goalscorer is injured, and if Joffy can't get minutes, that's poor on Bielsa's half!
The latest news on the “Pearl” didnt know his parents are English so no worries on visa The story so far Born in Spain to an English family in October 2001 – Can’t Get You Out Of My Head by Kylie Minogue was No.1 at the time, fact fans – Fernandez has since developed his skills in Espanyol’s academy. A striker, Fernandez began to catch the eye during the 2018-19 campaign with 15 goals in 13 games for Espanyol Cadete. He followed that up by making the step up to Espanyol B Juvenil, where he scored 15 goals in 22 appearances over the course of the 2019-20 season. Espanyol’s city rivals Barcelona reportedly made an approach to nab him in the summer of 2020, when he was 16, but he’s ended up staying put. Having done well to identify the likes of Pedri and Ronald Aruojo in recent seasons, while bringing through the likes of Gavi and Ansu Fati, it’s clear that Barcelona are putting an impetus on the next generation as they look to make it through their financial crisis. The possibility of the Catalan club making a return for his signature hasn’t been ruled out, while reports in the spring claimed that Man City were keeping close tabs. According to Spanish journalist Diego Balbotin, Leeds are now in for the youngster and have reached an agreement with the player but not yet met Espanyol’s asking price. It’s claimed that Leeds bid €500,000 but may need to pay his €1.5million release clause – although his current deal is due to expire next summer. Leeds United have reportedly reached ‘total agreement’ with Espanyol forward Mateo Joseph Fernandez – as per @diegobalbontin. Leeds’ latest offer of €500k does fall short of his €1.5m release clause. He’s out of contract in 2022. Saca Futbol (YouTube) #LUFC #MOT #ALAWpic.twitter.com/uYbb6n7kO6 — Leeds All Over (@LeedsAllOver) October 6, 2021 Playing style Details and footage of Fernandez are scarce are restricted to the youth team, as he’s not yet made a first-team debut. Some reports have claimed he can be ‘the next Sergio Aguero’, but as always with such claims it’s worth taking that with a massive pinch of salt. He’s been described as technically proficient and physically strong, but the main thing that stands out is his eye for goal – he scored 40 goals during a breakthrough 2016-17 campaign and notched a hat-trick against Barcelona’s academy side back in March. Fernandez scored 14 goals in 21 appearances in the Spanish Segunda B for Espanyol’s youth reserve side last term, averaging a goal every 112 minutes. However, due to an ongoing contract dispute with his boyhood club, he’s said to have been frozen out this season.
It would be great to see some of this young talent break through. It would save fortunes in transfer fees meaning one quality marquee signing a year. But if they’re not good enough to get past Tyler Roberts then….. maybe they’re not as good as some believe (I don’t think Roberts is terrible that said).
