Good Morning. It's Tuesday 28th December, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Leeds in race to sign Gary Mac 2.0 Various media outlets are suggesting that Leeds are preparing a bid for USA International Brenden Aaronson. The RB Salzburg midfielder has been dubbed the next Gary McAllister, an accolade that will see many Whites fans scouring the internet for footage of the 21yo. He joined the Austrian outfit from Philadelphia Union for $6m (plus$3m in add ons) during the 2020 Summer transfer window. Whilst this may not sound like much, at the time this was a record deal for a US home-grown player. Leeds need midfielders, preferably two. Whilst Aaronson has bags of potential, the Austrian League is very different to the Premiership, and many will worry that at 21, he could be out of his depth! please log in to view this image Nahitan Nandez rumour won't go away Cagliari ace Nahitan Nandez has once again been strongly linked for a move to West Yorkshire, at a knock down price of £22.5m. The Uruguayan International, now 26, was strongly tipped to join the Whites last Summer, but despite the close relationship between Victor Orta and Tommaso Guilini, a deal could not be made. Nandez then opted for a move to local rivals Napoli, but again the deal broke down after Luciano Spalletti's team demanded that the transfer be subject to a successful loan deal. Cagliari are languishing second to bottom in Serie A, with only one win under their belts this term. They are desperate to free up some cash, but do Leeds have the financial resources to complete the deal? West Ham and Spurs are also monitoring the situation! please log in to view this image Leeds are flaky, but should survive - Neville During a recent segment on Sky Sports, Gary Neville described Leeds as 'flaky', but insisted if they can get over their injury crisis, they should survive the drop. He went on to highlight the importance of ensuring Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford get fit! "It’s the most worried I’ve ever been about Burnley going down,” “Not because Burnley have regressed, I think the quality of the league is so good, it’s so good and if Newcastle and Leeds play to their standard that I think they can do, I think Burnley are in serious trouble. “Leeds and Newcastle both worry me, Leeds are flaky, they are flaky, I know they’ve got injuries at the moment. “If they get Bamford and Kalvin Phillips back and the others then they should be just ok.” please log in to view this image
Morning Flaky what the hell does that mean apart from the obvious being able to be easily broken into flakes why can't you use proper english you galahs.
Football finances in Italy are dire and lots of arrests will happen this coming year. Caliagri have needed cash for 18 months and have been hawking Nahitan Nandez around at top price. Leeds refused and the only way Nandez goes in Italy or Spain is as a loan deal with a buy option at the end, so Caliagri refused but now need to do something fast. Are Leeds really interested? Silly if they arent as he plays DM, AM, RB, RWB, LB and LW and RW. An international swiss army knife
Yep and one of footballs top midfielders. He captained Uraguay U20 team 28 times as a young kid and was given full international cap at only 19yo and has been a regular for Uruguay ever since. His team mates are Cavani, Vidal, Suarez, Godin and a few more huge names and Uraguay are a top side. He was schooled with one of the best clubs in Uraguay Penarol and was bought by Boca Juniors (Argentina) for a record fee as a kid before going to Italy.
Morning all I’m guessing we’re going to go through the transfer window with the possible addition of John Swift and maybe an addition to the U23s I can’t see any big signings. If Nandez was any good surely he’d still be worth the original fee they were demanding. I don’t want us signing yet another player like Dallas who seems to play in every position yet their best one, or Rodrigo and we’re still unsure what suits him best.
Nandez sounds good. RB Salzburg are a factory when it comes to churning out in-demand players, but at 21 I'd expect Aaronson to be put into the U23 (again). To be honest, the U21s and U23s aren't 'kids' and we shouldn't be buying anyone who can't go straight into the first team. Plenty of 18-21 year olds have made impacts in the PL.
When you look at the 2021 Uruguay squad on transfermakt you will see Nandez was valued at £20m and only bettered by Bentacourt at £30m. Suarez way over 30yo as is Godin and Cavani. Inter Milan are trying to get Nandez but would need to be creative by doing a big loan fee and then a 3 year loan with a promise to buy at the end. Inter get their player but he stays on Caliagris books for another 3 years, but pays them way over the odds so the deal could be worth a total of £35m at the end. This is the loophole used in Italy and Spain
We’re languishing above the drop zone, nobody really believes Bielsa will be here for another season, what is the attraction for him to join us over other PL teams? If he is that good there will be at least 5-6 teams in for him. We’ve got to get the next signing right as Rodrigo, Firpo and James have not provided an ounce of return between them. I don’t even feel confident Bielsa would play him ahead of Forshaw or Dallas. I’m looking at it logically and not with my hopeful supporters glasses on. I’m Radz and I reflect back to being persuaded to part with big money on Firpo and not improve Alioski wage. I reflect to a big money signing for James yet watch as he is played as a striker and not looking anything like I’d hoped he would. I think back to activating the purchase clause for Harrison, I look at the signing of Rodrigo, I wonder if Bielsa will stay beyond this season. I look at wanting to sell to the 49ers and weighing it all up what would my answer be in wanting to sign another player with no PL experience and trying to settle into a new country? If I was Radz I’d say sell the equivalent amount and I’ll bring him in, I’d not permit that equivalent amount to be the Crown Jewels, Meslier, Raphinha and Phillips.
It’s irrelevant who we sign if they’re the usual sick note type of player. Even players with a decent injury track record re injuries invariably end up on the treatment table when they join Leeds. So sign a player in January, Bielsa fit by March, play one or two games then out again. Not really worth splashing out a shed load of cash on a stellar signing in January. Better off getting the present squad back to fitness, which should be enough to see us to safety, and assess the situation re manager etc in the summer.
Yep and that's always been the message from the club in January. The players coming in have to be better than the ones we have. I think the difference this season is that we have that many players out of form or just not playing the system. Suddenly finding better players becomes increasingly easier. For example, IF we signed John Swift for peanuts, his stats and general play in the Championship eclipses prime Klich and Roberts as an attacking threat. With Klichs loss of form looking permanent and Roberts improvement not showing in end product, Swift would more than likely give us more creativity from central midfield. Might get him for 4 or 5 million tops. That's just one example. Would Bielsa play him straight away? With the injury situation he would get his chance. Then it's up to him to take it.
If they genuinely like swift and he’s available relatively cheaply then foolhardy not to in my view. Personally I’d like to see some genuine quality added to the squad… I’ve not seen enough of swift to be honest but with him and the Huddersfield lad we were linked with it felt like cheap squad filling for a key position
… well i guess it depends if they come Jan 1 or Jan 31… and whether they’re someone you would want in the summer anyway. looking at our league position and injury list and factoring in we’ve been looking to strengthen the midfield in particular anyway… I think I’d be looking to strengthen and protect my investment if I was radz. Might cost a few bob, but We’re worth a few less bob in the championship
In fairness to Ristacs post you have to say that some of our signings have not yet delivered: Firpo Rodrigo Koch James We do deserve better especially from seasoned Internationals. Illness and injury have stopped any development as yet and Dan James seems to be a square peg as yet. Llorente and Raphinha are the exceptions although again we missed Llorente for half of last season, but we await some delivery from £80m worth of talent above
If they genuinely like swift and he’s available relatively cheaply then foolhardy not to in my view. Personally I’d like to see some genuine quality added to the squad… I’ve not seen enough of swift to be honest but with him and the Huddersfield lad we were linked with it felt like cheap squad filling for a key position
Agreed. Someone like Swift for a relatively modest fee are the signings we should be looking at in January. Looks like he’d slot in easily and improve the squad. Less of a risk and more beneficial.
Dan James has been average. He does what many people say he does. All pace and no brains. Genuine question. Is Dan James doing any better than Costa would have done given similar opportunities?
I think firpo has had a really difficult introduction but also feel he deserves more time… shown glimpses going forward but not at the races defensively. koch I’m afraid I don’t rate defensively in this league but again maybe he’d adapt with an injury free run. Rodrigo I like as a player - but just doesn’t seem to have a position that suits him in our set up. I’m not sure what position they wanted him for to be honest. james I’m going to stand up for… when he’s played as a winger he’s done ok. Not his fault he’s not a centre forward. Yes his final ball isn’t the best, but the world knew that when we signed him.
I was thinking the same. Costa seemed to have more of an impact. We spent £25m and weakened the side imo.
