MOT View: Leeds United should target relegated clubs to bolster squad this summer
Leeds United were the low hanging fruit for many Premier League clubs a few months ago when it seemed as though they were going to be relegated.
As their top flight status hung in the balance, their top players such as Raphinha [Sport], Kalvin Phillips [MEN] and Illan Meslier [Daily Mail] were all linked with moves away from the club.
But now that they look safe, those transfer plans seem to be far more complicated for rival clubs to pull off and the club can largely plan for the future based around what they want to do rather than need to do.
But as the summer window approaches and Jesse Marsch considers which areas of his squad are needed to be bolstered to ensure this situation doesn’t happen again next year, he and Victor Orta should be taking a leaf from their rivals’ play books.
As it stands three of Watford, Norwich, Burnley and Everton will be relegated barring a swift change of circumstance in the final seven games of the season.
That means three of those teams will be in the same position Leeds were in not long ago, where their top players will be cherry picked by clubs in the top flight in deals that are likely to be much cheaper than if they were still in the Premier League.
Watford have got excellent wide players such as Emmanuel Dennis and Ismaela Sarr, while Moussa Sissoko has been decent for them this season too. All would solve problems in Marsch’s side currently.
At Burnley Nick Pope would provide a great option in goal to challenge or compete with Meslier, while Ben Mee and Maxwell Cornet have shown they’re capable of playing at the top level too.
Norwich have struggled and haven’t had many stand-out players, but once again Teemu Pukki and Max Aarons have been among their better performers and could be solid additions to Elland Road.
Everton have got countless players that Leeds would consider an upgrade on their current squad options but especially someone like Demarai Gray, Anthony Gordon or even ex-player Fabian Delph would be perfect.
Leeds could do all their shopping for the summer at those four clubs if they wanted to and be in a better place for it, showing just how important survival this season was to them.
In other Leeds news, Leeds loanee returns to training after injury and could feature before end of season