Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa walked out on Lazio after a matter of days.
July 5 2016 was a significant day for Marcelo Bielsa, now of Leeds.
It was the deadline he set Lazio to sign players he had been working on before his appointment.
Lazio did not land any of them, and Bielsa quit, to the fury of the Italian club, who had only officially hired him days earlier.
Leeds United’s progress with transfers has been slow going, but not seemingly slow enough to enrage Bielsa.
The Whites have signed only one player so far, with Bielsa appointed on June 15. He began work with the Leeds players on June 25.
It’s now July 6 and he one player signed is unproven loanee Lewis Baker, so the transfer activity from an incoming perspective has not been great.
Where Bielsa will be encouraged, is how active Leeds have been in terms of getting rid of unwanted players.
Madger Gomes, Pawel Cibicki, Jay-Roy Grot, Andy Lonergan, Felix Wiedwald, Lewie Coyle, and Tyler Denton have all been moved on already, and more unwanted players are likely to follow.
These departures have come at a prolific rate, clearing the decks for new additions, freeing up wages too.
Bielsa has to be encouraged by this, with Leeds doing exactly what he asked.
Fans may be worried about the lack of signings, but if the Argentine was not happy, they would know about it by now.
He is being patient, and Leeds as a club appear to be over the first scary hurdle of Bielsa walking away if the project was not what he signed up for.
They are past the July 5 deadline he set Lazio, and a couple of key additions will quickly get El Loco smiling and excited for the season ahead.
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