Troy Deeney reacts as Jeff Stelling shares what Leeds United need after win v Sunderland
Jeff Stelling and Troy Deeney have shared what Leeds United would need in the Premier League next season after their 2-1 win over Sunderland on Monday.
The Whites bagged a 95th-minute winner against Regis Le Bris’ men in their Championship clash on 17 February which sent them seven points clear of third place.
Daniel Farke’s men have cemented their place at the top ahead of that crucial Sheffield United showdown, as the dramatic victory over the Mackems couldn’t have come at a better time.
Reacting to the huge win, Deeney and Stelling have shared an insight into what they think the West Yorkshire outfit will need if they get promoted this season.
Leeds United should earn Championship promotion this season
Leeds have been one of the most dominant forces in the second tier this term and it’s hard to see how anyone will be able to stop them from finishing in one of the top two spots.
Last term, they fell just short of earning automatic promotion to the top flight after Ipswich and Leicester pipped them to it with huge point totals.
However, despite Pascal Struijk netting a 95th-minute winner after coming on in the 71st-minute, Deeney and Stelling still believe that the Whites need more firepower if they want to survive in the Premier League next season.
“Let’s not puncture their balloon but I think if they go up, they’re going to need a lot of reinforcing,” Stelling said live on talkSPORT (18 February, 06:09am).
“One thing in their favour is Elland Road, it’s a bear pit.”
To which Deeney replied: “Absolutely, obviously playing there you appreciate just how loud that can be, I think at times whenever we played there with Watford when we were both battling to go up, it was a case of trying to get that crowd to turn on them as quickly as possible.
“I worked the playoff final last year when I thought they had the better squad in terms of individual quality, I thought they went missing at times which wasn’t a good sign and this year, they’ve bounced back and done really well but if you’re going to take the jump into the big league, they’re going to need reinforcements.
“This season, they’re having a great season and they’ll probably go up.”
Daniel Farke needs to keep Leeds United on track
No one can argue against Leeds being the best team in the Championship, so they should be and they continue to prove that against the pressure.
While their form in the league has been impressive, as Deeney and Steeling shared, it feels like they could still do with some further additions, especially if they want to put up a good fight in the Premier League.
One of Farke’s main issues within his squad is the inconsistency of his number nines which is likely why he was looking to add either Cameron Archer or Adam Armstrong to his ranks at the end of the winter transfer window.
And, while Joel Piroe and Mateo Joseph have produced moments of class throughout the campaign, it still feels like they could do with a regular goal-scorer leading their line.
Other areas of Leeds’ team such as left-back could also do with looking at, and, if they don’t put in enough effort regarding recruitment in the summer, they could find themselves coming straight back down, if they earn promotion this season.