Marcus Tavernier has scored one goal in 15 games for a mid-table Middlesbrough side struggling in England’s second tier – so why would Leeds United be considering a January bid for a player who has failed to live up to his early promise at the Riverside?
Well, this is Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United we’re talking about.
According to TEAMtalk, Leeds director of football Victor Orta has been a fan of Tavernier since his days of working behind the scenes at Middlesbrough. Southampton, Burnley and Brighton are also understood to be interested.
But while Orta appears to be driving Leeds’ pursuit of the 22-year-old winger, you can guarantee any approach for Tavernier will be made with Bielsa in mind.
Bielsa could turn Tavernier into a Leeds United star
Bielsa, that most enigmatic of tacticians, possesses an almost mystical ability to see past a player’s on-pitch struggles and into his soul.
He’s the man with the mind of a supercomputer, capable of working out an infinite number of calculations while sipping a hot cup of coffee on an upturned bucket.
Kalvin Phillips was viewed by many as little more than a run-of-the-mill Championship plodder when Bielsa arrived at Elland Road in 2018.
Then there’s Luke Ayling, Gjanni Alioski, Liam Cooper, Mateusz Klich, Jamie Shackleton, Ilan Meslier and more.
Patrick Bamford, meanwhile, scored more goals in his debut Premier League season (17) than he managed during his final Championship campaign at Middlesbrough (11) – and in fewer games too.
There’s no doubting Tavernier’s potential.
Former Middlesbrough manager Neil Warnock predicted the one-time Newcastle youngster – who was born in Leeds by the way – had all the ability to follow in Mason Mount’s footsteps (Gazette Live).
And if anyone can make such a transformation happen, it’s Bielsa.
Here’s what some Middlesbrough supporters on Twitter had to say about the Tavernier to Leeds rumours:
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