Weekend Debate

As of Thursday lunch we had spent £75m on 6 new players plus we added a 7th new player on a free transfer. Estimates vary on how big our transfer kitty is as it seems to range from £85m-£160m. If there is truth in stories like we buy Muniz for £45m and Piaxoa for £35m that alone adds up to another £80m so overall £155m before we look at a very good full back who can play both sides, and a ten! That’s huge investment and if we can I hope we do, but I personally think the club would be wise to use the loan market. I think we can still get some statement signings in on loan with a buy option if we stay up and we know any statement signing we buy will have a relegation buy out clause to get him out of the club, it’s just the way things work.. I think the defence and midfield have been beefed up except for full back cover, so I’m not fussed if we do a loan deal for a striker or a ten or both. Loans help our PSR situation and saves us cash for future transfers like surviving in the prem and taking up the options to buy the loanees. There are also loan players available who we wouldn’t be able to buy as their club deems them too valuable but need them to play regular and develop, Marc Guiu for example or the young Turkish striker. I am also of the opinion that I don’t mind us overspending and flouting PSR as getting a few points deduction against having a team that survives is a no brainer. Lets be honest here FFFP and then PSR we’re introduced to make sure clubs cannot go into administration. Well folks we are owned by big hitters who will never go bust and Newcastle are owned by the richest owners in the world and they will never go bust. PSR is bollox and outdated and is only being perpetuated by the same 17 prem clubs who dont want to see relegation. It’s actually a restriction on trade!To change anything it takes 14 clubs and you know none of them will vote to change and that’s why the last 2 seasons the 3 promoted teams went straight down. On top of that the rules are stacked against the promoted teams as they are only allowed to lose two thirds of what the other 17 clubs can. So a rigged system on all fronts. A year from now it changes as we end up following the UEFA system but that could be too late for us.

Whilst we await more incoming good news, as I write this piece some pundits, Chelsea fans and the idiot who trashed his career Jermain Pennant, have said Leeds need to dive in fast and get Marc Guiu on loan. Chelsea on Thursday said they want to send Guiu out on loan but it needs to be in England and they want him to get plenty of minutes. Here is a classic case of using the loan market and saving yourself say £45m on Muniz, or do you buy Muniz and still loan Guiu but then have to sell Piroe to guarantee plenty of game time for Guiu. On the other hand Guiu could turn out to be another Joseph or Joffy that didn’t make it?. My own view is that I would be on the phone to Chelsea and try and get the kid as I think he’s going to be a top star. Still get Muniz but then do something about Piroe because we also have Nmecha so we should cash in on Piroe? with Paddy and Joseph gone too……..

Surely we need to see some players moved out by now: Meslier, Harrison, Gelhardt, Greenwood, Gyabi, Joseph, Bamford there hasn’t even been an announcement on Sonny Perkins leaving yet. My understanding is that his last loan took him to the end of his contract and he would be signing for Leyton Orient the loan club. However as he was part of our academy Leeds are due a training fee and will probably have a sell on clause? You would think with the championship kicking off before the premier league that some of our players would be doing pre season training elsewhere by now? Apparently Coventry and Birmingham are looking at Bamford and Joffy if reports are true?

 

What would be your ideal striker list if you had up to £50m for a striker

Muniz
Guiu
Nmecha

Or do you forget Guiu and have Piroe who has something to prove I believe

 

Tolu Arokodare would be a decent striking option considering we were going after Beto earlier this window. Rumours are that Fulham are after him.

Promise David is another i quite like but he signed a new contract.

 

Piroe is pure class ... a superb player with a keen footballing brain ... he finds space, his touch is exquisite and he can finish ... add to this his ability to drop off and bring others into play and you have a talent who will cost a fortune to replace ... Piroe is only going to get better, he needs to play ... trust him, start him and he will produce

 

Afternoon all. I’d find it odd loaning the Chelsea Spanish kid whilst getting rid of Joseph who appears to be ahead of him in the Spain pecking order. It’s also a big ask of him to score the goals to keep us in the premier league. The other issue I possibly see in using the loan system is why would rivals (let’s face it, other than the established elite, any club could get dragged in regardless of how good they’ve been if their better players get raided) so it would be like a turkey deciding to loan itself to Bernard Matthew’s. Will be difficult to loan experienced premier league players from rival clubs.

 

Perkins left in January Doc

https://www.leedsunited.com/en/news/sonny-perkins-joins-leyton-orient-in-a-permanent-deal

Leeds United can confirm Sonny Perkins has signed for Sky Bet League One side Leyton Orient in a permanent deal.

Perkins joined the Whites in 2022 and went on to play regularly in the Under-21s set-up. His goals helped the club to seal promotion back to Premier League 2 Division One, after winning in the play-off final.

The 20-year-old made his first team debut in the 2022/23 season and scored his first goal for the club in an Emirates FA Cup clash away at Cardiff City.

With first team opportunities limited, Perkins joined Orient at the start of the 2024/25 campaign and has now made his switch to the Gaughan Group Stadium a permanent one.

Everyone at Leeds United would like to wish Sonny well for his future career.​

 

Cheers mate, just how fast do these kids fall? He was a fans fav at WHU and had a great first team debut and loved by Moyes. Got billybigbollox and went to Leeds for a good fee and was told he was into the U21s. Scored a few there and got a couple of first team sub appearances scoring one in the FA Cup I think and then vanished. Went out on loan and sat on the bench then went out again to Orient and wasn’t brilliant for them either?

 

He is vastly under rated by a lot of the Leeds fanbase. Another big plus to his game is he’s a strong lad who is seldom injured

 

Quite a few reports stating Feyenoord have rejected Leeds €30m bid and Leeds have gone in with a higher bid. I get the feeling they are wanting a big chunk up front which is the main reason Marseille slipped up. Wonder how far we are going to push

 

I was going to say get the guy I wanted 3 years ago from PSG, Kalimuendo, done well in his 3 years at Rennes.

However see Spurs, RB Leipzig and Villareal are looking at him, as he's available for approx. £25m.

I've no idea what Muniz is like, but to me spending £50m on a guy who struggles for first team football in a mid tiered EPL team seems awfully expensive

 

Cant disagree with any of that because I remember looking at Kalimuendo back then and thinking he was going to be a baller. Last season I think he was third in the Golden Boot behind Mason Greenwood and the ugly big lipped Barcelona reject from PSG. Kalimuendo would be great value for money and much cheaper than Muniz

 

I dont think id like a completely new front line.

I also don't think we will be in for a number 9

Great debate doc. Love your weekend threads

 

Sonny Perkins was never going to make it. He was bigger than everybody else at a young age and used it to his advantage. When everyone else caught up in size he didnt have the quality to maintain his advantage. Ryan Edmonson was the same.

 

Top answer there don’t know why we bothered as he always looked like an oil tanker and miserable as hell

 

Well said...

 

Another striker we were continually linked with was Brightons Evan Ferguson, well Gasperini snapped him up for Roma and he put his boots on for a pre season friendly and scored 4 goals. Lesser opposition but according to media reports it was a jaw dropping performance. When you think about the number of strikers we have been linked with and those who we havent you start to think that maybe Muniz may be a “stalking horse”, Will we see someone out of left field actually get signed

 

I think it was against a div 4 team and apparently his attitude stinks. Dont think he would last with Farke

Hear say of course

 

Piroe is a funny one, he has the build of a target man but doesn’t play line one. He does have touch and vision but is generally a passenger in games where we dominate field position and possession. Yet as a sub when the game is fragmented or in games where we’re the ones breaking/in transition regularly he looks really good. It was similar at Swansea - his threat was on the break. Which is weird as he has no pace. He seems able to find space and link play when there is an open game but struggles to be useful in breaking down packed defences. In the PL where we won’t dominate possession he may prove more effective. Key word being may.

 

His manager said he hoped Roma would help him mature I think we’re the words. More to these young lads than kicking a ball I suppose

 

I'm a bit lost at the moment in what the plan is for the new season we have bulked up our midfield and with some big money signings coming in are we going into a 4-3-3? Are we still wanting a 10 if so?
As on the striker situation are we after a poacher or a all rounder?
Loan market is still a massive help for us but I don't think we will delve into this untill the season starts and see who is missing out from around the country.
How we setting up at the moment anyone want a guess at a starting lineup with what we currently have if everyone is fit and available. from a normal formation to a 4-3-3. surely we must be changing game plan from game to game.