Angus Kinnear comments on Leeds United’s January plans

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Leeds United sit top of the Championship table heading into the January transfer window.

Leeds United managing director Angus Kinnear has spoken about the type of player the club are looking for in the January transfer window.

The club’s board member stated that they are looking for someone to ‘add significant and immediate capability’ to the Championship leaders next month.

Added with that, a potential January addition will need to ‘fit within our reasonable wage structure’ and ‘not destabilise the squad’.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side recorded a stunning 3-2 win at home to Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day, with second-placed Norwich also securing a dramatic 3-3 draw at home to Nottingham Forest.

Forward Kemar Roofe, who netted a stoppage-time winner at Aston Villa over the weekend, scored two injury-time goals to help keep up the club’s hopes of reaching the Premier League alive.

With the transfer window set to re-open next month, Kinnear outlined the four criteria’s a potential January purchase must meet if they were to join the club.

“We will use the January market to evaluate any opportunities but our criteria on adding to the squad will be exacting,” Kinnear told the club’s matchday programme prior to their game against Blackburn, as quoted by The Yorkshire Evening Post.

“Any new face will need to add significant and immediate capability to the first team, fit within our reasonable wage structure and not destabilise the squad that has serves us so well.

“Identifying and securing this type of player will be challenging and we are conscious that the majority of January purchases fail to deliver against expectations. However, our scouting and analytics capability give us a better chance to beat the odds.”

Earlier this month, the Yorkshire club confirmed on their official website that playmaker Samuel Saiz will join La Liga outfit Getafe on loan from January until the end of the season.

It remains to be seen if Bielsa opts to replace the Spaniard next month but if he doesn’t then they already have a number of options available to them with the standout being Pablo Hernandez.

Bielsa’s side currently hold a six-point lead over third-placed West Brom in the table and a further 14 point lead over Garry Monk’s seventh-placed Birmingham City as a top-six finish is now in their own hands.