Leeds United could be a Premier League team shortly.
Sam Allardyce has told Alan Brazil’s Sports Breakfast show on talkSPORT that Leeds United would need only a few players to survive in the Premier League next season.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side host Derby County in the second leg of their playoff semi-final at Elland Road tomorrow, with Leeds winning 1-0 on aggregate.
If they get to Wembley and beat Aston Villa or West Brom – who square off tonight – in the final, United will have ended their 15-year Premier League exile.
Huddersfield and Fulham are two clubs who were relegated from the top flight this past season, despite both making wholesale changes to the squad last summer and spending big money to do it.
And Allardyce has said on talkSPORT [May 14, 2019] that Leeds should avoid that strategy, claiming that Bielsa might only need five players – providing they’re the right players.
He said: “I think you look at the spend of Fulham and Huddersfield. Huddersfield managed to stay for one season and then failed miserably. Fulham went past £100m and failed.
“You have the fans and then you have the owners, and then the owner and manager. If you’re looking at relegation are the owners going to stick by the manager to bring them back?
“You’ve got to try and put together a team and buying 10 players who don’t know each other won’t work. If I had £120m I would spend the money on four or five players that were quality, not 10.”
Allardyce might be right.
These Leeds players have been playing together for a few years for the most part.
They are all familiar with one another and if Bielsa can supplement an already-strong squad with some marquee signings then perhaps that’s the best way to go.
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