Leeds United might be sitting on top of the table, and from outside, everything might be looking good, but the West Yorkshire outfit is currently going through a major injury crisis. We are just nine games into the Championship season, and Marcelo Bielsa had to deploy a youngster, who doesn’t even have any experience in the Championship. Though Tyler Roberts has done decently so far, turning to him so early shows that the Whites fell short in the summer transfer window.
Trusting in the youth is a good thing as it helps the club build for the future. However, having to play such inexperienced players so early in the season suggests that they should have been more active in the transfer window. The physical demands in training from Marcelo Bielsa would test even the fittest of players, and a strong squad is indeed needed for the manager to succeed.
Bielsa wants his team to play with high intensity and press from the top. The players are always on the move as they continuously try to find space and the midfielders and fullbacks always try to get in and around the box when the team is attacking. That football looks refreshing and beautiful on the eye but in just six games into the season; it has brought down first-team players like Kemar Roofe, Pablo Hernandez and Gaetano Berardi. Now, these injuries could have happened even if there was another manager at the club but the system under Bielsa is a significant cause.
Phil Hay of Yorkshire Evening Post recently tweeted that players like Ryan Edmundson, Jack Clarke and Tom Pearce could also be in line to get a look into the first team. The likes of Liam Cooper and Pontus Jansson have also suffered knocks for which they missed a few games here and there. At this point, almost in every position, the squad is at its bare minimum. With games coming in thick and fast, an injury to one of the centre-halves or someone like Samuel Saiz could spell doom for the club in their title race.
Around Christmas, the FA Cup would come in, and if the club happens to be in and around the top two/three spots, it would be wise for the manager to not concentrate too much on the Cup competition. Maybe Bielsa can keep on working with the youngsters. But the fact that we are just a month into the season shows that the Whites missed a trick by not being active in the transfer market. Yes, we might be playing the devil’s advocate here as everything seems reasonable at the moment regarding results (let us consider for a second that today’s result was an anomaly) and hopefully, from the Whites point of view, we are proven wrong.
As the title race begins to get tighter and reaches its conclusion, there will be massive pressure on players to keep up the good work, and that is where experienced players come in handy. Maybe the Whites can rectify their mistake by making some smart acquisitions in the January transfer window.
