Rory Jennings: Liam Cooper isn’t a Premier League player
TalkSPORT presenter Rory Jennings believes Leeds United could struggle for Premier League survival, insisting their squad is not good enough for the top-flight.
The Whites have picked up just one win in eight games, and injuries have dealt a blow on their chances of going on an impressive run like they did last term.
Many of the players have struggled to reach the heights of last season, and Jennings claims Liam Cooper is not top-flight standard.
The talkSPORT 2 host said (as shared on their official Twitter account): “Leeds number one priority this season is survival, because last season they came up, they were great, they surprised a lot of people. Had some tremendous results, but this is where it starts.
“This is where it really starts, and they are looking shoddy, really shoddy. I know they have had injury problem, but the squad overall, they are not really good enough to be in the Premier League. Not really.
“They have got some jewels. (Kalvin) Phillips, obviously brilliant, Raphinha obviously brilliant, (Patrick) Bamford, you can make a case for him. But Liam Cooper is not a brilliant player, is he? He’s not a Premier League player. You can probably list half a dozen who can do a job in the Premier League.
“There are players in the Championship that are better than a lot of Leeds players because a lot of what made them good last year was the (Marcelo) Bielsa factor, the way they played.”
Ominous
Leeds have not covered themselves in glory at the back this term, leaking 15 goals, and Cooper has to take some blame.
The Scotland international centre-back has played every minute of the campaign so far, and while he has not been solely responsible for their defensive woes, he really should be doing better.
He featured in 25 league games last term and is not first-choice despite being the side’s skipper.
With Diego Llorente and Robin Koch both never fit at the same time, the Whites would have to manage with what they have going forward.
Cooper is not exactly bad, but he is yet to fully convince that he is cut out for the top-flight. Defending at this level is not the easiest of tasks, and while he knows one or things about the art, he has often struggled against top attackers.
Leeds need to strengthen their squad in January if they want to impress this term. They are yet to turn a corner and will need to do so quickly before it is too late.
In other Leeds United news, Jeff Stelling has slammed Sky Sports pundit who mocked Whites in 1-0 loss v Southampton.