Mighty Leeds Weblog

By Adam Crafton and Phil Hay Leeds United are very close to a permanent deal for Manchester United winger Dan James for an initial £25 million plus add-ons. The Athletic reported on Sunday that his current club were ready to listen to offers for James. A transfer has moved swiftly on Monday and Leeds are nearing his signing ahead of Tuesday's deadline. James is travelling to Leeds tonight, with a fee agreed and deal done, pending a medical. Leeds previously came within a whisker of signing James from Swansea in January 2019, when the player had completed a medical, only for the deal to fall through on deadline. It is believed that Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa remains an admirer of the Welsh winger and would like his club to sign James before Tuesday night’s deadline. James himself had been determined to fight for his place at Old Trafford and he has started two of United’s first three Premier League games of the season, including the 5-1 win over Leeds. However, in the 1-0

By Phil Hay Jurgen Klopp’s face was a lasting image, fatigued by his first encounter with Leeds United. Likewise Pep Guardiola, out in the rain at Elland Road and drained by the devilment Marcelo Bielsa was causing. Managers in the Premier League found out last season, driven to the edge and vocal with their admiration. Sean Dyche was never likely to let his facade crack like that because Dyche is programmed to give less than an inch, armed with a plan which is making his No 10, Ashley Barnes, the anti-Christ in the eyes of other teams. For much of Sunday’s game at Burnley, though, Leeds’ reputation hid from view, lacking the substance that built it so convincingly. Bielsa’s squad do not intimidate with studs up or big hits but their football at its best has been brutal in its brilliance, fierce enough to make full time a blessing for the clubs who fare worst against it. That football was why Chelsea set a record for distance covered against Leeds last December and why, perhaps,

By Phil Hay To properly explain the dynamic of recruitment at Leeds United, it helps to revisit a conversation that took place in the January transfer window of 2020. Marcelo Bielsa was short of a striker — unexpectedly short, after Eddie Nketiah’s request to terminate what was meant to be a season-long loan from Arsenal — so Victor Orta made quick work of lining up deals for Billy Sharp and Glenn Murray. Both were available and whoever Bielsa picked, he would be getting a forward with promotion from the Championship on his CV. Realistically, he would be getting goals too. Bielsa thought about it, and said no to both options. In the system he favoured, and set against the criteria he had for a striker, neither player was a good fit. It sent Leeds down a path that led to Jean-Kevin Augustin’s door (another story entirely) and caused some nervous amusement at Elland Road. They were at a crucial stage of the season so nothing was very funny but it was hard not to laugh at Bielsa s

Leeds United target Daniel James must still be convinced about leaving Manchester United on a permanent transfer, according to The Athletic. With Cristiano Ronaldo on his way to Manchester United, the club are open to letting James go before the end of the transfer window on Tuesday night. And in Leeds, they have found a willing bidder who have been tracking the Welshman and were just a whisker away from signing him in January 2019. Leeds are now in talks with Manchester United over signing James on a permanent deal and are prepared to offer a considerable fee for him. But it has been claimed that the winger is not yet sure about wanting to leave Manchester United on a permanent deal and must be convinced. The 23-year-old is aware that his game time is going to dwindle this season if he stays at Old Trafford. But he still needs to be convinced about cutting all ties with Manchester United at a late stage of the window. Leeds are pushing to sign him but they have a job in

SHINING Written by Moscowhite • Daniel Chapman On a day when the fans were frustrated, the players were bruised, and everyone ended up feeling a bit let down without quite being able to define why, Marcelo Bielsa made it a teachable moment, because he always does. There’s always something new to learn and or consider, although whether this always makes up for not getting three points from some miserable Lancashire town is another matter. “The difference is that for us to play well we need our creative players to be on top of their game,” he said after drawing in Burnley. “Their style of play means it doesn’t demand that their players shine. This is something of value when you’re describing a team.” If you didn’t see the game, Burnley’s passing stats will tell you a lot about their style of play. After three games, they’re bottom of the league for attempted short and medium length passes, eighth for long balls. (Don’t let those numbers completely deceive you: top two for attempt

Leeds United left Turf Moor with a few bumps and bruises after a physical encounter with Burnley, but most importantly they left with a point. By Graham Smyth The performance was far from vintage Bielsaball but it was vital for the sake of the mood around the club that they did not end the game empty handed, particularly with a transfer deadline and an international break looming. As ever, it was a good day for some and a bad day for others. Good day Patrick Bamford An England call-up and a goal against Sean Dyche's Burnley all in the space of a week. There will be no wiping the smile off his face. He and Dyche did not gel when they worked together and that appears to have morphed into the classic 'former player' routine that plays out between fanbases and individuals who used to wear the shirt. Plainly, they don't much like Bamford at Turf Moor and this game won't have changed that. He found himself in the trenches against the Burnley defence, but seeme

Patrick Bamford believes Leeds United were well worth their point in a hotly-contest clash with Burnley at Turf Moor. By Joe Urquhart The Whites travelled to face the Clarets on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League and played out a 1-1 draw in Lancashire. Marcelo Bielsa's side encountered a physical battle, with seven bookings being handed out by referee Michael Oliver in a high-tempo affair. The two sides were unable to be separated at the interval but it was Sean Dyche's hosts who broke the deadlock on the stroke of the hour. Former Leeds man Chris Wood was on hand to turn home a low shot from Matthew Lowton after a scramble from a corner inside the United box. The visitors responded, though, as they pushed on to earn a draw late on through their No 9. Bamford - in similar fashion to Wood - was in the right place at the right time to prod a deflected low shot from substitute Jamie Shackleton into the back of the net. The England man's effort came five mi

Head coach on Burnley draw. Marcelo Bielsa has spoken with the media after his side played out a 1-1 draw in the Premier League, away at Burnley. In what was an intense battle at Turf Moor, Chris Wood put the hosts into the lead before Patrick Bamford’s late finish levelled the game. “It was a very disputed game and it was a very physical game,” Marcelo said, after the match. “Apart from a moment in the middle of the first half and middle of the second half, we dominated the game. “They created danger in a similar proportion to us.” With Bamford scoring moments from time, the Leeds United head coach was pleased that his side secured something from the game. “It would have been very negative for us not to have taken any points from the game,” Bielsa explained. “Through that goal, we managed a draw which is a lot less than we were looking for but it was difficult to get it. “For us to play well, our creative players must play well and to create danger we need our offens

 

Bielsaball is all about elegance, style, risk-taking. But what makes the beautiful game so beautiful, and the English game in particular, is that there are lots of different ways to play it. By Stuart Rayner Burnley knew that if they played Leeds United at their own game, they would lose. The Whites, who swept them aside 4-0 on their last visit to Turf Moor in May, are infinitely better at it. But the Clarets are masters at what they do. It was Burnley who won the cross-pennine clash of styles, turning the game into a niggly, petty, ugly, stop-start battle. You would assume, then, they would win it, but Leeds showed the character to hang in and claim a point. Both goals were fittingly scrappy, poached by Leeds centre-forwards past and present Chris Wood and Patrick Bamford. Wood's opening goal, the 30,000th in the Premier League was instantly forgettable but you do not get extra points for style. James Tarkowski headed against the woodwork at a corner, helped on its way

Patrick Bamford capped a dream week with a late equaliser as Leeds extended Burnley's winless home run to 12 games by pinching a point in a feisty Premier League affair at Turf Moor. Chris Wood had looked set to earn Burnley all three points with a predatory finish against his old club, turning home Matthew Lowton's shot from close range. But Bamford, who earned his first England call-up this week just days after signing a new long-term contract, stabbed in Jamie Shackleton's effort with time running out. Burnley, who have not won at home since January's victory over Aston Villa, were then left clinging on for a draw amid late Leeds pressure. New Zealand striker Wood, a £15m signing from Leeds in 2017, appeared to have broken that run shortly after James Tarkowski's header was tipped on to the bar by Leeds keeper Illan Meslier. The Clarets kept the ball in the box and Wood got the slightest of touches to Lowton's shot to divert it into the net. Howev

Aaron Bower at Turf Moor While it is still August and the Premier League remains in embryonic form, it is hard to gauge what yesterday’s draw might mean for Burnley and Leeds United in the long run. Yet there was surely plenty for both sides to learn as their respective waits for a first win of the season continued here. Statistically for Sean Dyche there was the unwanted distinction of a new club record of 12 league games at home without a victory. That will be undoubtedly more frustrating given how, up until the final few minutes, that long wait for a win at Turf Moor seemed destined to end. Chris Wood’s strike against his former club on the hour was not only what Burnley deserved but it looked to be enough against a Leeds side who looked to be frustrating their travelling support. For all of the entertainment that Marcelo Bielsa’s side brought to the Premier League last season, this result showcased a very different trait in them. It is no exaggeration to suggest that they wer

The government is planning to reverse legislation which prevents fans from standing in football grounds, according to reports. By Flora Snelson Since 1994, fans have been required by law to stay seated during football matches following the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, when 97 Liverpool fans died in an incident of progressive crowd collapse. The capacity of the North Stand at Elland Road was consequently cut from 17,000 down to 7,000, and standing during the game has not been allowed in the twenty years since. “Persistent standing in seated areas whilst play is in progress is strictly forbidden and could result in ejection from the ground, which may lead to possible further action by the club,” reads Leeds United’s current terms and conditions of ground entry. But since standing persists in all parts of the ground, most notably in the South Stand, Leeds United Supporters’ Trust have been working with the club towards the installation of rail seating. Rail seating incorpora

JOKES Written by Rob Conlon When reflecting on the death of Diego Maradona, Marcelo Bielsa lamented a decline in the art of dribbling. “What makes me really sad is that people like Maradona and Messi, who showed their individual brilliance through dribbling, they are versions of players that stop repeating themselves,” he said. “For example, Kylian Mbappe could be said to be the best player in the world right now, but his art is not comparable to that of Maradona’s.” Don’t worry about Mbappe, Marcelo. You’d only be telling him he’s not worth €200m if we signed him anyway. So let’s talk about Crysencio Summerville instead. Summerville scored his second goal in three games for Leeds’ Under-23s in Friday night’s 3-2 win over what’s left of Derby’s reserves. With a bench to warm for the first team, Summerville has only played 45 minutes of each game. That’s been more than enough time to leave a creche of traumatised full-backs contemplating their life choices. Dovetailing with th

Leeds United defender Junior Firpo says his welcome into the Elland Road dressing room has made it easy to settle quickly. By Joe Urquhart The Whites announced the capture of the former Barcelona full-back in July as Firpo swapped the Catalan giants for West Yorkshire in a deal worth around £13million. Firpo has featured in both of the club's Premier League games so far this season and completing his first 90 minutes of competitive action in the Carabao Cup against Crewe Alexandra in midweek. United now travel to face Burnley on Sunday in the top flight and the 25-year-old is again expected to start at Turf Moor alongside his new team-mates. "We all have a really good connection here," Firpo told this week's matchday programme about how quickly he has settled in at the club. "The truth is that this dressing room is different for me. In Spain, everyone thinks that English people are very different to the Spanish, maybe more quiet. "But for me, t

WHAT'S HAPPENING?! Written by Rob Conlon The damage Neil Warnock did to Leeds United’s self-esteem can be summed up by Brian McDermott’s second match in charge of the club, in April 2013. Burnley were the visitors to Elland Road and, like Leeds, looking nervously over their shoulders at the Championship relegation zone. Just 16,788 fans were brave enough to attend, even after a Luke Varney-inspired (yes, you read that right) victory over Sheffield Wednesday in McDermott’s first game. The way Leeds took Burnley on had them rubbing their eyes, surprised into song by the unrecognisable performance of the players in white shirts. A chorus started up: ‘We’re Leeds United! We’re passing the ball!’ “I’ve come here to enjoy myself,” McDermott said. “The staff want to enjoy themselves and I want the players and the fans to enjoy themselves, that’s what life’s about. I’ve told the players, I have no fear about a game of football, and I want them to have the same philosophy.” After

SO MANY WORDS Written by Moscowhite • Daniel Chapman There he is, the Wetherby pub bore, sitting in the corner all night, splitting one pint into two glasses with his yawning mate, while the landlord tuts and calculates takings per hour for his table. More drinking and less yakking would get the till ringing, but it doesn’t take much to set this bloke off. Just two Leeds fans at a nearby table, one saying to the other, ‘You see Raphinha got called up for Brazil? Good player, him.’ Aw hell’s bells, here we go, he’s off now isn’t he: “He’s a very potent player and it’s very difficult to triumph in the Premier League if you don’t have this potency. This explosiveness and repetitions, quick physical responses. On top of that he sustains the efforts of any problems but players in those conditions, there are many in the Premier League. What there are very few players of, is the players of his talent with his feet to resolve a situation. Apart from that, being able to imagine the resp

1. I used to get death threats Man, it happened so many times. We’d be in the away changing room before the game and some mob would knock on the door. I say knock but, you know, they were basically trying to smash it down. They would scream all these things at us. “IF YOU WIN THIS GAME, WE’LL KILL YOU!” “YOU’LL NEVER MAKE IT OUT OF HERE ALIVE.” This was at the famous várzea tournaments. The home of the rejects. Like me. Man, it is hard for me to even explain the várzea to you. People in Brazil know what it is, but you have to play in it to understand what it’s really like. You have all the top clubs, right? And every kid wants to get a contract at one of their academies. That means you’ll get some money to help your family, and you might turn pro. But the kids who don’t get in, they end up in the várzea tournaments. It really is the Wild West, man. It’s like a network of independent matches and tournaments organised by the local community. The level is a lot lower than