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'Who would you buy, Rio?' – Ferdinand responds when asked to name one player Leeds must sign
Rio Ferdinand has said that buying a single player won’t make any difference to the mixed results Leeds United have had in the Premier League.
He said that what the team needs is balance and a step back from the gung-ho approach that has caused such a storm in the top-flight.
Talking on his ‘Five’ podcast on YouTube, Ferdinand was asked, “Who would you buy Rio? If you’re Leeds what one player could stop them getting smacked around?”
Ferdinand replied saying, “I don’t think it’s any one player. I think they just need balance in the way they tactically set up.
“To go gung-ho for the full 90 minutes is a big ask. They’ve proved it’s doable in the Championship but the Premier League is a different beast.
“Maybe there needs to be a period where they take their foot off the gas, soak up a bit of pressure and then turn it on again. Maybe that element of surprise will help them, especially against the bigger teams.”
Ferdinand also said that the Leeds approach could put superstars off signing.
“The conundrum is, can you get readymade superstars to run like that with that intensity, every day in training and every game for the season?” Ferdinand said.
“Yes, you can buy hungry young players, but the big ask is to get a superstar to buy into it.”
Superstars welcome
Leeds United have taken the Premier League by storm, with Marcelo Bielsa’s unique brand of attacking football.
We’ve been involved in more goals than any other team in the Premier League (63 at the last count!) but for every 5-2 win v Newcastle, there’s a 3-0 defeat v Tottenham.
Leeds fans don’t really care – sitting on 23 points before the halfway point of the season is more than satisfactory.
And we’d rather watch thrilling football than try to defend a bottom-three place like Big Sam is doing at West Brom.
However, the recruitment in the summer is going to be key to taking Leeds to the next level and Ferdinand makes a good point.
Will superstar players fancy the hard yards that Bielsa dishes out? Will they fancy murderball on a rainy Wednesday afternoon up north.
The bottom line is if they don’t fancy it, we don’t fancy them. Players like Cristiano Ronaldo show what players can achieve with the right work ethic.
We think there are plenty of elite players who would love to take their game and fitness to the next level with Leeds.
And we’d welcome them with open arms.
In other Leeds United news, Bielsa has found next Ben White, Leeds must swoop now for CB compared to 4-time PL winner