In little over a week, Leeds United will host their first Premier League game of the season when they take on Everton at Elland Road. The Whites spent the last two years in the Championship and are looking to establish themselves again as a top-flight side.
Leeds have signed seven new players since earning promotion to the Premier League, and their recruitment early in the window largely focused on deepening and strengthening their defensive and midfield resources. The free transfer arrival of Lukas Nmecha has so far been the only attacking signing.
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The club’s recruitment this summer has had one distinct feature. Leeds have brought in some tall, physical players who are not going to get bullied easily in the Premier League and are likely to be hard to play against, especially at Elland Road next season.
Leeds’ search for a new striker is also following the same ideas. The club are looking at forwards who will provide a very physical outlet up front for the Whites and will bully opposition defenders with his strength and physicality.
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Leeds United have found a Premier League survival template – Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher admitted that he read the way Leeds have recruited this summer and feels it can be seen as the perfect template to survive in the Premier League.
He revealed that even former Southampton manager Russell Martin lamented not having enough physicality in his Saints side last season, which eventually cost them.
The former defender believes Leeds’ recruitment shows that they are looking at small details such a set-pieces to ensure they survive in the top flight next season.
“I read an article on that”, talking about the feature of Leeds’ recruitment, Carragher said on The Overlap.
“Basically, it is a template to stay in the Premier League.
“Russell Martin came on Monday Night Football last season, and he obviously just lost his job at Southampton.
“But he said if he were there again, it’d be the physicality, and that’s where they really lacked.
“When I read that article, it was almost a template to stay in the Premier League. Set pieces are going to be important because they are not going to dominate games like they did in the Championship.”
Leeds need to finish the transfer window well
For all the credit the recruitment team at Leeds are getting, the job is not done yet, and they need attacking reinforcements before the end of the window.
Leeds are in talks with Leicester City’s Bilal El Khannouss, and have identified Liverpool’s Ben Doak as a potential recruit for the left-winger position.
The Whites are still working on bringing in a striker and have continued to monitor Rodrigo Muniz’s situation at Fulham this summer.
Farke has made it clear that his squad cannot be termed Premier League-ready without investment in the final third of the pitch.
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