Opinion: Guardiola could help Leeds sign £20m ‘new Messi’; he loves Marcelo Bielsa

Follow us on Google Discover

At this point, it feels almost unnecessary to point out that Pep Guardiola is rather fond of Marcelo Bielsa.

Leeds United fans could probably recite his gushing, fanboy praise word for word these days, with the Manchester City boss famously quipping that his West Yorkshire-based mentor is the ‘best coach in the world’.

Considering that Leeds have gone from Championship mediocrity to the darlings of the Premier League in the space of two years, the Elland Road faithful would be included to agree with Guardiola’s assessment.

With Bielsa working his magic some 50 miles to the east, the Man City boss had no qualms about farming Jack Harrison out on loan to Leeds , safe in the knowledge that Bielsa was the ideal coach to smooth out the winger’s rough edges.

Harrison had only ever played four league games in British football when he arrived on loan from across the Pennines in 2018. Now, in his third season at the club, his transfer value has surely risen by somewhere in the region of £20 million.

Polish publication Sport, meanwhile, claimed in the summer that Man City were mulling over the idea of signing Legia Warsaw left-back Michal Karbownik and enrolling him in the Elland Road finishing school too.

Not that it mattered in the end – the defender moved to Brighton instead.

So, with Tuttomercatoweb reporting that Pep’s City have joined Inter Milan, Valencia, Ajax and rivals Manchester United in the race for Velez Sarsfield wonderkid Thiago Almada, don’t be surprised if the £20 million-rated ‘new Lionel Messi’ is honing his dextrous dribbling skills under a famous Argentine tactician if – or when ­– he arrives in England.

“I would like Bielsa to coach me,” Almada told TYC in the summer after being linked with Leeds (Ole). “My friends sent me that something about Bielsa (being interested in me), but I am calm. Whether it happens or not, we have to see.”

Like Harrison, Almada would certainly have his work cut out forcing his way into City’s star-studded frontline, even if David Silva has gone and namesake Bernardo continues his worrying decline.

Even the most naturally gifted footballers need skill and steel to thrive in England. Almada has one of those attributes already – Bielsa would give him the other.