Leeds United have emerged as prime promotion contenders under the iconic Marcelo Bielsa who took charge of the famous West Yorkshire outfit this summer and guided them to a high-flying start of the 2018-19 Championship campaign.
But the momentum was not maintained in later weeks as injuries impeded their fluency and the Whites dropped to third place before the international break. Not every league, however, is having a couple of weeks interval and El Loco was spotted in one such fixture on Saturday afternoon where Barnsley hosted Luton Town at Oakwell in a crucial League One outing.
This, meanwhile, led to speculations whether the gaffer was observing someone with a view of bringing them in at Elland Road and our assumption is it might be Ethan Pinnock, the 6 ft 4 in centre-back, who is enjoying a blistering run since completing a €570,000 transfer from Forest Green Rovers last year. Leeds need defensive reinforcements in the winter transfer window to keep their promotion hopes alive as they lack serious depth in central defence that has often forced them to slot in resources in makeshift roles.
Gaetano Berardi, predominantly a fullback, is doing well in the middle but his injury has left Bielsa with Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper as the only other senior central defensive options. Conor Shaughnessy, the Irish youngster, is not yet ready against the physicality of Championship football and right-back Luke Ayling, although deputised as a centre-back previously, never looked comfortable enough in such a critical role.
Barnsley were relegated to the third tier after failing to come out of the drop zone during the final weeks of the 2017-18 Championship season. But they are now eyeing an immediate return having made a strong start to the new League One season. They Tykes are placed third in the standings but hold the joint best defensive record (alongside Blackpool) so far conceding nine goals from 12 league outings.
Although Pinnocks’ game time was limited the previous term, the 25-year-old Englishman has been handed a critical defensive role this season since the appointment of Daniel Stendel as the new Barnsley boss.
The central defensive ace has a strong aerial as well as physical presence along with a great sense of positioning, timely tackles and an admirable game-reading attribute. Moreover, he would threaten the opponents from set-pieces (mostly indirect free-kicks and corners) due to his strong build, and the Whites enthusiasts must hope Pinnock is the one whom Bielsa is closely monitoring.
