Gordon Strachan outlines ‘major headache’ Leeds United face in coming weeks
Leeds United legend Gordon Strachan says the club face a “major headache” shipping out unwanted players during the transfer window.
The Whites suffered relegation from the top flight last term in a hugely disappointing campaign.
Several players have been linked with an exit during a close season that is awaiting the rubber-stamping of a takeover from 49ers Enterprises after the appointment of Daniel Farke as manager.
Strachan, a First Division title winner with Leeds during his spell at Elland Road, warned it will be difficult to ship out the deadwood, though.
“Moving players on that are not up for it will be a big problem,” Strachan told Genting Casino in quotes reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“That is a major headache the club will have this summer. I’d be quite surprised if there are a lot of offers for some of these Leeds players. There are people in there, but I think the offers that will be coming into the club will be for the harder-working players, not the flamboyant ones.
“There were a lot of players at Leeds who, when the chips were down, didn’t show up. They’ll be doubts about some of those players. Perhaps a few of those guys may move on loan, but permanent deals, sales, I think it will be really difficult to move some of these players on.
“When I look at the players that have come into the club over the last eighteen months, I think Leeds will struggle to move on most of them.”
A fair point
On the one hand, it should not be too difficult for Leeds to raise some money to fund new signings ahead of a tilt at an immediate return to the Premier League.
The issue is, the players who have been linked with the exit door are ideally the ones you would want to keep at the club to have a good crack at doing so.
Tyler Adams, Rodrigo Moreno and Robin Koch are among those who look almost certain to depart Elland Road.
But the point Strachan is making is that there are several players signed in recent windows who just simply have contributed nowhere near enough to the Leeds cause and those are the players who ideally the Whites would move on to free up space for wages.
The immediate focus is, of course, on getting the 49ers takeover completed after Farke was appointed on Tuesday. It needs sorting quickly so that the squad can be moulded ahead of a huge campaign.
In other Leeds United news, Brenden Aaronson is headed for Germany according to talkSPORT.