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MOT View: Exciting new Leeds reveal could see major Koch crisis solved in an instant
We were expecting a quiet January transfer window for Leeds United. Marcelo Bielsa was said to be happy with his squad and doesn’t like adding players in January.
Leeds’ recent track record for January transfers is awful – the mess that was an initial loan deal for Jean-Kevin Augustin last January could still go legal.
However, that was before the injury to Robin Koch.
With the news that he’s out until Spring, the January window has suddenly taken on much bigger significance.
Some people may say that Luke Ayling and Pascal Struijk are ample cover in behind Diego Llorente.
But those people would be wrong.
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Koch was the cover for Kalvin Phillips and Llorente was the cover for him if he had to switch positions.
With Koch out, Leeds have no replacement for Phillips if he is injured or suspended. And Leeds fans will know how that went when he was missing against Leicester and Crystal Palace.
However, there could well be an instant solution on the horizon.
There was a hugely exciting financial reveal last week, that showed the San Francisco 49ers were readying imminent extra investment in the club.
They have set up a ‘Leeds II’ Venture Capital Fund that all but says they’ll be buying an extra tranche of the club very shortly, on top of their existing 10%.
They bought their last slice of the club with an almost identical ‘Leeds I’ fund.
However, as @LEGSYN8GELDERD mentioned last night, 49ers have opened a new Venture Capital Fund to raise money for a new investment and named it "Leeds II"
Their "Leeds I" fund was used to provide the cash to buy their shares in #LUFC in 2018
So….
— MikeT/AdrianTeakdesk (@Mike_J_Thornton) December 3, 2020
MOT Leeds News columnist Paul Robinson thinks Leeds are set for an imminent windfall and claimed the partnership between the two groups is ‘perfect’.
It could also be very timely.
Andrea Radrizzani values the club at around £300m and if the 49ers were to buy another 10% it would cost them a lot more than their last chunk did, providing the club with around £30m.
That would be plenty for Leeds to dip into the market in January and get proper support for a position that has been a constant problem since Marcelo Bielsa arrived.
Another centre-back who can also play the holding midfield role would be the ideal buy. It won’t be easy to find someone like that but, incredibly, Leeds could soon have the money to solve this problem in a single stroke.
In other Leeds United news, Big injury blow hits, Bielsa to axe 28yo in 2 big changes – Predicted Leeds XI v West Ham