Leeds now must move to sign Steven Caulker on free transfer

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Steven Caulker is a free agent and Leeds United should capitalise on his availability.

While most Leeds fans are refusing to question Marcelo Bielsa’s judgement after his superb start to life at Elland Road, it did surprise some of the Whites supporters that there was seemingly no attempt to sign a new centre-back in the final hours of the transfer window.

Leeds seemed to shut up shop once Izzy Brown arrived from Chelsea, leaving the likes of Gaetano Berardi, Liam Cooper and Pontus Jansson to shoulder the defensive burden until January.

Players such as Luke Ayling and Conor Shaughnessy can also be deployed in the middle, but given the events of the last week, perhaps Leeds would be wise to make a move to sign a player that the Championship club reportedly had their eye on during the summer window.

The Daily Mirror reported on their live transfer blog (08/08; 08:48) that Leeds were considering a £1.5 million bid for one-time England international Steven Caulker, who had made a very good start at rebuilding his career with Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.

The deadline will have forced Leeds to shelve most planned pursuits, but Caulker remains available to the Whites as it was announced in the final hours of the window that he has left Dundee and is now a free agent.

Meanwhile, Leeds’ clash with Middlesbrough ended with Gaetano Berardi coming off with injury and leaving the ground on crutches. And when you consider that Shaughnessy endured a tough night in the Carabao Cup against Preston North End, signing Caulker on a free transfer arguably makes a lot of sense for the Whites.

The international break could be ideal for Berardi if his injury is not too serious, but if there is any sense that he could be sidelined for a substantial period, then reigniting their interest in Caulker could be extremely worthwhile.

And even if Berardi is expected to be fit by the time Leeds face Millwall, perhaps Bielsa should not shut the door on the idea of signing Caulker as centre-back depth is perhaps the one question mark lingering over the Whites squad heading into the break.