Leeds should consider Gary Cahill loan bid in January

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Leeds United’s defensive options have already been stretched on a couple of occasions this season.

If Marcelo Bielsa is going to get involved with the January transfer window, it would be no surprise if his priority was strengthening Leeds’ defensive options.

The Whites have already seen their ranks stretched with both Luke Ayling and Gaetano Berardi out until the new year. As things stand, Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper are Bielsa’s only senior centre-backs.

Ayling and Berardi look set to be closing in on a return by the time the January window opens, but their situations should act as a warning ahead of the second-half of the season.

And Bielsa should be tempted to roll the dice and ask about Chelsea stalwart Gary Cahill. The Daily Mail recently reported that the Blues are likely to let the 32-year-old leave on loan in January before he finds a new permanent home at the end of the campaign.

Cahill earns £130,000-a-week, according to Sportac. The wages could definitely prove a stumbling block, but perhaps the Premier League side will not demand a huge contribution given that they are already planning to miss out on a transfer fee.

And with the Mail reporting that Aston Villa could make a move, there seems little reason for Leeds to be frightened off making an ambitious bid, especially as they have already signed a number of players from Chelsea this season.

Leeds’ days of seriously overpaying for players are over. But if Bielsa’s men find themselves in the promotion race come January – which they should, given their form up until this point – they should seriously consider pushing the boat out a little further than usual.

The Whites could potentially cope without adding another centre-back to their ranks, but they are relying on some luck with injuries that they have not had up until this point. Signing Cahill would be a remarkable response to the centre-back issues they have endured.