Signing free agent Phil Jagielka could and should interest Leeds United.
Victor Orta revealed on Monday that quality over quantity was Leeds United’s transfer strategy this summer.
That’s a Director of Football’s way of saying ‘So we’re sort of broke, but we’ll do the best we can with what we can’.
It’s fair enough because Leeds don’t need an overhaul, having finished third in the Championship last season and come ever so close to winning automatic promotion back into the Premier League.
But they will need to box smart and one clever signing to consider would be former Everton star Phil Jagielka.
He might turn 37 next month, but Jagielka, who has 360 Premier League games under his belt, definitely still has something to offer a Championship club.
It wasn’t a no-brainer by Everton to release him. There was speculation that he could get a new deal, having played a blinder in a win over Arsenal a few months back, and if an ambitious club like the Toffees are torn over whether to keep you or not then that in itself suggests you can definitely cut it in the second tier.
Plus, Marcelo Bielsa needs an experienced centre-back. Orta signed 21-year-old Ben White on Monday, but he isn’t proven in the Championship and a wise head like Jagielka could be very beneficial on and off the pitch in West Yorkshire.
His last contract at Goodison Park was worth £50,000-a-week to him [Spotrac], which may represent an obstacle if Leeds are to throw their hat in the ring, but a one-year deal is unlikely to be detrimental to their finances, especially if Kalvin Phillips leaves for Aston Villa in a mega-money deal.
This is precisely the sort of transfer market ‘creativity’ that Orta spoke about on Monday.
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