Is this a good problem to have?
Or is it something that is going to cause the club major problems in the January transfer window?
Speaking after the 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion last night, Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa said that it will be tough to tempt strikers in given how established Patrick Bamford is. He later went to say that the club will need to be clever with what they do in the market.
To start with, that shows total confidence in Bamford in what he’s doing, he wouldn’t be saying these things if he didn’t have faith in him to carry on his form so far this season, and if he keeps scoring goals and keeps fit, then you can’t really as for much more.
This is more or less the point that I was making yesterday. It’s no good trying to bring someone in that is going to look to compete with Bamford, because he has got that starting centre-forward position more or less locked in, having started all bar one of Leeds United’s games this season, only missing the Birmingham City game and the first half of the West Brom game through injury.
Given the situation that arose with Eddie Nketiah and his lack of minutes, any player that Leeds bring in won’t be getting a look in at the first-team unless something disastrous happens with Bamford.
That’s why I think Leeds need to look for someone who isn’t going to come in and offer constant competition for his starting role, but rather act as light relief for him every now and again to keep him fresh for the duration of the season.
Bielsa clearly sees that it is going to be a problem, but being able to fix it is going to be a whole different matter. As I said last week in regards to Jack Clarke, if Bielsa doesn’t get it right, then it could lead to a lot of trust issues going forward.
Were you happy with the draw against West Brom?
Yes
No
If he brings in someone to compete, but then they don’t get a fair chance to, what sort of message will that send out to anyone that might be thinking of coming to Elland Road in the future?