Leeds United are finally back in the Premier League.
United have been outside of the top-flight for 16 years at this point, and if they want to get back to the success they achieved in the late 90s and early 2000s when they reached a Champions League semi-final, they will have to be clever when it comes to making new signings.
United’s squad is still largely made up of the same players that finished 13th the season before Marcelo Bielsa arrived, and questions have to be asked as to whether or not those players are ready for the step up.
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It’s fair to say that United need new additions, and on Saturday we learnt how many players Angus Kinnear wants the club to bring in this summer.
What’s been said then?
Phil Hay hosted a special promotion Q&A, and as you may imagine, numerous questions were asked about the club’s transfer business this summer.
One fan asked how much United will spend this summer and how many players they want to bring in, to which Hay replied:
“I can’t put a figure on it but they won’t be wildly flush with cash. They already need to fund Costa, Harrison and Meslier but they will make signings – four or five, Kinnear reckoned. Expect them to look closely at the cream of the Championship. It sounds like they’ll go domestic in the main.”
Correct way to do it
Bringing in a small number of talented Championship players is a smart strategy during a post-promotion campaign as it’s low-risk, high reward.
We’ve seen in recent years how top Championship players can quickly become stars in the Premier League with James Maddison, Jack Grealish and Neal Maupay all taking to the league like ducks to water.
If Leeds follow that strategy they could easily strike gold, but even if it does all go wrong, they will be well-prepared for their return to the second-tier with a squad full of proven Championship stars.
Four or five seems like a decent number of additions as well. A lot of the current crop have earnt their chance at playing in the Premier League, and Bielsa famously prefers playing with a smaller squad.