He’s making his voice loud and clear.
With the January window fast approaching, former Leeds United man Noel Whelan is already getting ideas in place for how he wants the club to attack the transfer market.
Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan laid out exactly where Leeds United need to strengthen the most during the January transfer window, and he made his instructions to Director of Football Victor Orta incredibly clear:
“I hope Victor Orta is looking and I’m hearing whispers that he is. We need another striker, especially if Arsenal recall Nketiah, another goalkeeper if Kiko Casilla gets a long ban and possibly another centre-back. I think Orta is looking at three January signings, although whether we would sign three is another matter. We have enough midfielders and wide men, and Marcelo Bielsa has lots of options in those positions. When you look at the heart of defence and up front, those will be Orta’s priorities.”
However I think that Whelan is being incredibly naïve here, especially because a lot of this is based on ‘ifs’, such as Nketiah being recalled and Casilla getting a lengthy ban. But on top of that, is there really any need to go out and spend? Given how Leeds United’s U23 side have faired so far this season, should the emphasis not be on trying to develop the youth during that period of time given the right opportunity.
Take for instance Illan Meslier, who the club have got lined up to replace Casilla if worst comes to the worst, and is someone that is thought of incredibly highly by the Leeds fan base. Do the club need to go out and bring someone in for what could essentially be a couple of months?
And then up front, with Ryan Edmondson scoring plenty of goals for the team, would it not be worth giving him the promotion that he really deserves, rather than spending money on the likes of Rhian Brewster’s wages?
Just because you can spend the money, doesn’t mean you have to, and given how Marcelo Bielsa has spoken in the past about his desire to carry a small squad, wouldn’t it be counter-intuitive to add to the squad too drastically?
Would U23 players be a good way to address shortfalls in January?
Yes
No
It might be better to go with what the club have already got.