Exclusive: Robinson responds to Leeds & Aston Villa transfer comparison
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Leeds United…
Paul Robinson does not believe you can compare Leeds United to Aston Villa and Fulham for the way they have spent money since winning promotion to the Premier League.
Last season, as reported by Sky Sports, Villa spent £144.5million on 12 new players yet only managed to finish 17th in the table to avoid relegation by one point.
In the year prior, Fulham spent £100million on 12 new players in the summer transfer window after winning promotion but suffered instant relegation back to the Championship.
Leeds have also spent around £100million on new players in this transfer window but Robinson believes that money has gone towards quality, rather than quantity.
“Spending-wise you can compare them but I don’t think you can recruitment-wise,” Robinson told MOT Leeds News. “They’ve been a lot more sensible with their recruitment.
“We all know about what Marcelo Bielsa expects and wants from a player.
“They’ve bought sensibly. They’ve got value for money. I don’t think they’ve overspent on any of the new players.”
As we’ve said, Villa and Fulham both splashed the cash on 12 new players whereas Leeds have only signed players who were either already at the club in Helder Costa and Illan Meslier, as well as just four new faces in Rodrigo, Robin Koch, Diego Llorente and Raphinha.
Three of those four players are capped internationals for major nations while the other, Raphinha, is an up-and-coming Brazilian winger who helped Rennes quality for the Champions League last season.
Victor Orta has shown a tendency towards going for quantity over quality but since Bielsa’s arrival at Elland Road, the director of football has been reigned in slightly.
Orta has an eye for a good deal and Bielsa has an eye for a great player.
It’s a good combination that should see Leeds end up having one of the best transfer windows in European football.
In other Leeds United news, Phil Hay’s shared what he’s heard about Raphinha amid reports he didn’t want to join the Whites.