Leeds United are firmly in the running for automatic promotion as they sit seven points clear of Fulham in third place, with just nine games to go, and they have Marcelo Bielsa to thank for getting them there.
Elland Road has seen a lot of interesting names put pen to paper from both a playing and managerial perspective, but not many have turned heads as much as when ‘El Loco’ signed on the dotted line back in the summer of 2018.
The Argentine immediately proved his worth to the club by enhancing the Whites’ promotion prospects to the point where they were one of the favourites for promotion, this came through a means of enhancing the players in the current squad along with some careful transfers to build on weaknesses in the squad.
It’s worked immensely so far as they sit pretty at the top of the table, but last season proved that a lack of transfer activity in the January window could come back to bite them, as they famously missed out on Daniel James.
However, Leeds did manage to bring in players for the positions they wanted, albeit very late in the window and not first-choice. Jean-Kevin Augustin came in on loan from RB Leipzig while Ian Poveda signed from Manchester City on a permanent deal.
While they have plugged the two alarming gaps in the squad, there will still be some transfer business that the fans and perhaps even the club might be interested in revisiting at the end of the season.
Here, we take a look at two transfer links that the Whites could take a second look at this summer…
Che Adams
The Southampton striker was top of the list for Bielsa’s striker targets in January, but it appeared as if Ralph Hasenhuttl was unmoved in his standing that Adams was not to leave St. Mary’s that month.
Leeds put in three bids for the former Birmingham City forward, all being rejected and the final one amounting to an eye-watering £20million fee if the Whites secured promotion.
It was clear from the start of the window that Adams was the priority target and once he became categorically unavailable, they turned elsewhere and landed on Augustin. While the Frenchman does have an option to buy in his contract, he hasn’t really shown his true colours yet for Leeds and the club might be interested in revisiting other targets with his progress not really showing at all.
If Leeds were to pursue another striker in the summer, you could bet your bottom dollar that Adams would be very high on the list of targets.
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Luke Freeman
The Sheffield United midfielder is another that has struggled to make any impact since trading the Championship for the Premier League, barely featuring as the Blades push towards the top four.
At QPR last season, he was a constant thorn in the side of every team he faced, including Leeds as he scored the only goal in that gloomy evening for the Whites down at Loftus Road.
Football Insider reported that Leeds were keen on the central midfielder and that he was also eager to get more playing time away from Bramall Lane. The move made perfect sense for all parties, with Leeds needing a midfielder after Forshaw’s injury, Freeman happy to move and the Blades not really having a place for him.
As it were, Leeds didn’t end up sourcing cover for the crocked Forshaw but they could well go back in for him in the summer as he still struggles to get anywhere near Chris Wilder’s first team.
With a lot of uncertainty shrouding Forshaw’s fitness for the future after such a lengthy injury layoff, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Leeds bring in Freeman. A midfielder great between both penalty areas and with a keen eye for a goal or assist, he would be a much-appreciated addition to Bielsa’s misfiring attack.