Given that he would often ease new signings into life at Leeds United, blooding them bit-by-bit while they got used to his unique brand of hard-pressing football, Marcelo Bielsa and January additions never really went hand-in-hand at Elland Road. No pre-season, after all, meant no time to get fresh additions up to speed.
Jesse Marsch, however, cannot really afford the luxury of taking such a stance. If Leeds are to stave off the threat of relegation for a second straight season, the winter window provides an ideal opportunity to put some much-needed breathing space between themselves and the bottom three.
Successive wins over Liverpool and Bournemouth were welcome, yes, but not quite sufficient to paper over the cracks. This is a Leeds side who have spent much of the last four months without a recognised left-back. Patrick Bamford’s ongoing injury issues, meanwhile, have left Marsch short of options in attack too, with Leeds regularly turning to unproven youngsters when things go wrong.
And while Sam Greenwood, Willy Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville (four goals in four games) have certainly made their mark, this hardly feels like a sustainable gameplan. The form of such young players is, after all, famously precocious.
Will Leeds United spend in the January transfer window?
“We’ve spoken a bit (about transfers),” Marsch admits. “We have targets. I think we’re smart enough to know that, in order to achieve our goals, we want to continue to look at every position and think about how we can move forward in the right way.
“We talked enough about the striker position in the summer. And I don’t think that that’s gone away. I think we’re active, we’ve been active.”
The dream addition would, of course, be PSV Eindhoven talisman Cody Gakpo. Leeds failed with a £30 million bid in the summer but chairman Andrea Radrizzani has already admitted that the explosive Dutch international remains on the radar. Per The Mirror, personal terms have been agreed with Gakpo’s camp.
The biggest obstacle standing in Leeds’ way is the fact that the £40 million-rated forward has plenty of admirers higher up the footballing pyramid; Manchester United, Arsenal, potentially Liverpool too. That is not to say Leeds are wasting their time, however.
They can, after all, offer Gakpo one thing Man United, Arsenal and co cannot; guaranteed first-team football.
A new look left-wing?
A prolific attacker at his most effective when cutting in onto his right foot; Gakpo could form part of an exhilarating new left-wing partnership at Elland Road, with Borussia Dortmund’s Raphael Guerreiro also on their radar. Per 90Min, Leeds scouted the 56-time Portugal international during Dortmund’s 4-2 defeat to Monchengladbach on Friday.
If there is one word we’d use to describe Guerreiro, who will become free-agent in 2023, it’s ‘fun’. There are not many more entertaining players in Europe than the France-born 28-year-old when on form; a bundle of energy and excitement from left-back. Guerreiro already has three goals and three assists during an otherwise inconsistent season, and takes a mean free-kick. Needless to say, he would represent an obvious upgrade on Pascal Struijk; a man who has performed admirably out of position but remains more comfortable in the centre of defence.
Leeds’ new Patrick Bamford?
Keep an eye on Flamengo striker Pedro too. A 6ft 1ins targetman who feeds on loose balls inside the penalty area, the Brazil international (who has been included in Tite’s World Cup squad) scored 29 goals for Copa Libertadores winners Flamengo in the 2022 season. According to Fabrizio Romano, Leeds have been keeping tabs on Pedro for ‘a long time’.
And while clubs this side of the Atlantic tend to avoid selling star players in the winter, the nature of the Brazilian league season (it runs from April to November), makes a January deal for Pedro feel that little bit more possible. Our winter, in a way, operates like their summer.
Of course, Marsch and director of football Victor Orta will be beholden to the size of Leeds’ January budget. But Guerreiro is entering the final few months of his contract, PSV may have to sell Gakpo on the relative cheap due to their well-publicised financial issues, while Pedro (albeit a couple of months ago) was reportedly valued at a bargain £15 million.
Of course, it’s unlikely that all three players arrive in January. Unlikely, but not impossible.
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