Sensible Leeds United transfer decision can help avoid 'two pitch' scenario and new boss headache - YEP 15/6/23

Nick Hammond has his work cut out to avoid a new Leeds United manager finding a 50-odd man squad at Thorp Arch on July 2.

By Graham Smyth

The interim football advisor, as he was described by the club in Thursday's press release, is here to mastermind and manage the transfer window, as he did for Newcastle United in January 2022.

Then, he oversaw the arrivals of Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes, Dan Burn and Matt Targett as the Magpies' Saudi Arabian ownership made its first foray into the market. That work was transformative at St James' Park and has been given huge significance in the story of their turnaround. Far more so than the busy shuffling of fringe players into loan clubs.

Now he's got to do a bit more than transform a side through new arrivals and intelligent purchases, because this Leeds squad is in serious need of a redesign.

And though it is the most obvious statement of the year to say the players who come in this summer have to be exactly the right ones if a promotion bid is to succeed, the outgoing business looks just as key.

Leeds have not given themselves, or rather circumstances have not given Leeds a great deal of time to play with in order to get both their ins and outs majorly underway prior to day one of pre-season.

Just how pivotal the lateness of that takeover agreement between Andrea Radrizzani and 49ers Enterprises will be viewed remains to be seen and will depend largely on the work Hammond oversees at Elland Road. But in any case, any new first team manager will want a squad that is full of options but not one that is hugely bloated.

The Yorkshire Evening Post recently undertook a predictions-based analysis of players who could be considered part of the first team picture this summer and the number ran to 40. That was without taking into account a great number of youngsters who will likely form next season's Under 21s squad, some of whom might harbour a glimmer of hope of breaking through to the senior set-up.

Of course there may well be those who have made it known to the club, or had it made clear to them by the club, that there is little point in a July 2 reunion at Thorp Arch because their future lies elsewhere. Equally, however, players need to stay sharp ahead of a new season, regardless of their intentions to experience it at another club and if moves are not imminent or forthcoming, Thorp Arch it will be. Even if Leeds have tentatively suggested to fringe players that their future would be best served somewhere else, it might make more sense for certain individuals to turn up on day one and try to impress a new boss because squad player status with Leeds in the Championship might trump the best possible option out there. Finding convincing options will be difficult in some cases. One tough job of many.

There's a case for urgency. Should Hammond and co not facilitate a decent number of outs in the next fortnight then there's a very real 'two pitch' scenario for the new manager to contend with in week one, due to the sheer number of players he will be casting his eye over. Although Leeds have confirmed the release of two senior pros, in Adam Forshaw and Joel Robles, both have been invited back to train in pre-season and could well be among the number turning up for fitness testing.

How Hammond comes to decisions on the outs will be interesting. How familiar is he with the squad? How many decisions can be taken before a manager is appointed, given he too will want a say in who stays? Are they at a point with their shortlist that they have ascertained which players would be surplus to requirements for all of the top managerial targets and so can be shifted on immediately? Is there enough of a crossover in terms of style that certain players just won't fit in regardless of who gets the job?

News, broken by The Athletic, that Tyler Roberts is closing in on a move to Birmingham City, is evidence that some things are at least starting to move. Marc Roca appears to have a move in the offing, too, with a loan to Real Betis looking very possible.

Leeds have been behind the eight ball due to the ownership uncertainty and a lack of football figureheads in the building since the departures of Victor Orta and Sam Allardyce, but with Hammond in place ideas and proposals that were being kicked around will become decisions that can be actioned.

An experienced transfer deal negotiator was required because relegation can leave a club vulnerable to agent or player power. German outlet Bild carried a suggestion this week that Robin Koch could go for free this summer, one the club were quick to refute. Hammond's job is to ensure Leeds not only quickly divest themselves of wantaway players to create space for replacements in key positions, but to get the best possible price. As deep as 49ers Enterprises collective pockets may be, books still need to be balanced and avoidable losses avoided.

Relegation clauses will take the haggling out of it for those who have them. There's not a great deal Hammond can do about that. Finding takers won't be difficult in a number of cases. The exits just have to make sense for Leeds. So do the retentions. Convincing Tyler Adams to stay will be another difficult job, one that will require the club to put together a compelling promotion plan. On that front you would hope Leeds can get an answer in good time, to avoid the nightmare scenario of building a team around a player who subsequently departs late in the window.

In terms of incoming recruitment, the same sensible theme that Newcastle's January window took on would be ideal. At St James' Park the idea was clearly to build the team before the team. Signings they needed for the here and now, who would improve the team and give it depth, alongside signings around whom the future, Champions League involved team could be built. At Elland Road a promotion team is required, players capable of doing the business almost straight away in a competitive and demanding division. Players with good injury records, big personalities and profiles that make them round pegs in round holes. Versatility has its place but came to be relied upon to a degree that made less and less sense at Leeds.

Again, however, there are questions over who exactly is setting the agenda when it comes to transfer targets and where they fit in terms of the football and formation Leeds will be playing next season. The incoming business always felt likely to follow some outgoing movement anyway, but it might be prudent to wait until Hammond has sat down with the new boss to thrash out in tandem what they need and want.

Hammond's own arrival looks sensible, though. The football structure at the club needs an overhaul, 49ers Enterprises want to do it right and give it a full review before settling on a definitive long-term plan, so a steady hand on the tiller to guide them in the meantime has the look of common sense. It's an obvious step, almost, for a club who have been accused of overlooking the obvious in search of the clever. Problems arose when the clever turned out to be anything but.

Let's see what he can do then, while others crack on with appointing a manager, to provide that manager with a semblance of a workable squad for July.