Marcelo Bielsa's warning to Leeds United hierarchy over £40m Stuart Dallas solution - YEP 6/5/22
Leeds United are set to be without versatile midfielder Stuart Dallas for an extended period of time following a femoral fracture
By Joe Donnohue
Leeds United's Stuart Dallas will be sidelined for several
months after a leg break sustained in the defeat by Manchester City last
weekend.
A definitive timeframe for recovery is yet to be set for the
Northern Irishman due to the severity of the injury which saw him stretchered
off last Saturday.
The 31-year-old has undergone surgery and already vowed to
return 'stronger than ever', but faces a long road ahead.
Consequently, Leeds' summer transfer priorities will be
expected to shift somewhat.
Dallas has featured in each of Leeds' Premier League
fixtures since the club's top flight comeback two years ago and will leave a
considerable hole in the first-team.
Part of the reason for Dallas' longevity in the side has
been his versatility across multiple positions.
This season, Dallas has played at left-back, right-back and
in various midfield guises under both Jesse Marsch and previous manager Marcelo
Bielsa.
Due to the size of Leeds' squad, Dallas has been the head
coach's go-to deputy in several areas of the pitch, standing in for Luke
Ayling, Junior Firpo, Mateusz Klich and Adam Forshaw whenever needed.
'There's not many left of us now.'
— Graham Smyth (@GrahamSmyth) May 6, 2022
Lovely piece from @JoeDonnohue with Eddie Gray as the legend meets up with his FA Cup winning Leeds United team-mates this weekend to celebrate the triumph's anniversary. #lufc https://t.co/u1HfV1wyub
His absence over the coming months will leave Leeds short in
not one, but multiple areas.
A solution to this will likely come in the transfer market, but
finding a replacement - temporary or otherwise - for Dallas, is an additional
transfer objective for the club this summer.
Bielsa had previously explained why Leeds were unable to
spend large sums on first-team-ready players in previous windows, opining that
that calibre of player costs in the region of '£20-£30 million'.
"In reference to the amount of players that we have in
the squad, it is not only about the amount of players but the quality of the
players that are for the squad," he said last November.
"So the players will have the level for any position,
it would cost us a minimum between 20 and 30 million pounds."
Assuming Leeds now need to cover multiple positions while
Dallas is unavailable, this is likely to cost as Bielsa predicted.
"To give an example, if the club had to replace
Bamford, what amount should they invest? A winger costs £30-40 million, how
much does a centre-forward that scores goals cost?" Bielsa said in January
this year, further stressing the financial constraints clubs such as Leeds must
contend with.
