Here are the Leeds United evening headlines for Thursday, September 17.
Marcelo Bielsa issues Liam Cooper injury update ahead of Fulham clash
Marcelo Bielsa remains hopeful that Liam Cooper will be fit to face Fulham on Saturday following a calf injury.
Cooper is club-captain at Elland Road and missed out on the 4-3 defeat against Liverpool after returning from international duty and failing a late fitness test.
There is now hope that the time off will mean Cooper can return for this weekend’s meeting with Fulham at Elland Road.
“We think Cooper will be ready to play the game on Saturday,” he said, before adding that the club had no fresh injury concerns. There’s no new injuries from the last few days.”
You can read the latest injury news update here .
Leeds the only ‘concrete’ offer for defender
Leeds United remain the only club to have made a ‘concrete’ offer for Dinamo Zagreb defender Joško Gvardiol.
The 18-year-old has been on Leeds’ radar for some time, and according to Index HR they are the only club that have submitted a bid for the defender.
The report also states that Dinamo’s failure to qualify for the Champions League may see the defender change his mind about a move to Elland Road.
Dinamo fell 2-1 to Ferencvaros earlier this week, and that means they will be attempting to qualify for the Europa League instead of the Champions League.
The report states the situation has forced Dinamo to put ‘everyone’ for sale and that after allegedly declining a move to Leeds this situation could change his mind.
Their report does not mention RB Leipzig, who are also said to have an interest in the defender.
Marcelo Bielsa on the controversial decision to hand Kiko Casilla the captaincy
Marcelo Bielsa has revealed he interpreted the feelings of Kiko Casilla’s team-mates when making the controversial decision to appoint him captain for the midweek Carabao Cup tie against Hull City.
Casilla joined Leeds from Real Madrid in 2019 and served an eight-game suspension last season after being found guilty of racially abusing Charlton Athletic forward Jonathan Leko.
When asked whether he thought it was appropriate that Casilla be named Leeds captain for the game against Hull, Bielsa replied.
“His team-mates think he deserved to be the captain and we have to listen to those messages,” he said. “The players see in their captain someone who they feel can represent them.”
The Leeds boss was also asked if he could understand why many supporters were upset by the decision.
“I respect the thoughts of any person. After that, opinions can be argued. Surely those who judge Kiko ignore a lot of the things that his team-mates see in him.
“So you are saying I should have contemplated over whether to make Kiko captain? Either I take the opinion of the fans or of the players. I can’t deny that the captain not only represents his team-mates, but also the club.
“If there’s correlation between what the authorities, the fans and his team-mates think, surely the public won’t have all the information that his team-mates would have.”
