Leeds United are knee-deep in their preparations for the Premier League season as they push to build a squad that can survive in the top flight next season. The Whites are back in the top tier of English football after a two-year gap, and are keen to establish themselves again in the top table.
Leeds achieved promotion to the Premier League after a decade-and-a-half away from the top tier in 2020 under former manager Marcelo Bielsa, and that squad of players etched themselves into the history of the football club for taking them back to the top flight after such a long absence.
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Illan Meslier and Patrick Bamford are the only surviving members of that squad that got Leeds back up, and the duo are expected to leave the club before the end of the transfer window on 1st September.
One of the rocks of that Leeds team is also available for a transfer this summer after he left his last club, and has been linked with a return to England in the ongoing transfer window.
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EFL clubs have been told to snap up former Leeds United captain Liam Cooper
Liam Cooper left Leeds last year after his contract expired and joined CSKA Sofia. However, after a season in Bulgaria, the defender is set to move on a free transfer.
He is available as a free agent, and former Aston Villa star Lee Hendrie feels Cooper should find a club in the Championship or League One in England.
Hendrie insisted that any promotion-chasing League One side should look into signing the former Leeds captain because of the wealth of experience he brings to the table.
He believes the 33-year-old has the ‘Bielsa-Leeds DNA’ that can be a huge bonus for a club in the Championship or League One next season.
“With him being a free agent, I think you have to look at his position and his experience”, Hendrie told FLW.
“He has the potential to fit into most top League One clubs, and maybe at the bottom end of the Championship. And just regarding his experience, I think any of those aiming to challenge for promotion would welcome him.
“I think you look at the stronger clubs with younger squads, someone with his experience, and the fact that he can play out from the back with the Bielsea-Leeds DNA, he would be fantastic.”
Cooper can still do a job for EFL Clubs
Injuries marred Cooper’s final season at Leeds, but he remains a cult figure at Elland Road, the captain who guided the club back to the Premier League.
He would want to return to England, and should feel that at 33, he could still do a decent job playing in the Championship or League One.
He has a wealth of experience playing in the Championship and League One, and could be a valuable addition to the team as well as the dressing room of an ambitious League One club.
If he ever returns to Elland Road in a different colour, Cooper would get a rousing reception from the Leeds fans for what he did for the club.
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