Here are the Leeds United evening headlines on Saturday 26th December.
Haaland tour revealed
The Athletic reported today that Leeds United led current Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland on a tour of the club's stadium and training ground in an attempt to persuade him to join the club two years ago.
Leeds were tailing the then-teenage Norwegian during his time at Molde, drawing on links with his father and former Whites man Alf-Inge to tempt him to Elland Road. However, Phil Hay wrote that Leeds could not compete with Red Bull Salzburg's offer in financial terms and the striker moved to Austria instead.
It proved to be something of a good decision, with Haaland scoring 29 times in 27 appearances for Salzburg, before moving on to Dortmund where he has already bagged over 30 goals in his first year.
Dyche bemoans fixture congestion
Marcelo Bielsa's opposite number this weekend Sean Dyche has complained of the Christmas fixture pile-up ahead of his team's visit to Elland Road.
Perhaps conscious of how hard Leeds work their opposition on a weekly basis, Dyche has described the situation as far from ideal, speaking to the media ahead of tomorrow's clash.
He could well be without key men Robbie Brady and Dwight McNeil for the match, which would see him forced to utilise what is already a threadbare squad starved of real quality.
"I don't think we really need to be playing two games in three days but the schedule is what it is," Dyche said.
Burnley face Sheffield United at Turf Moor just 52 hours after their lunchtime kick-off with Leeds finishes on Sunday.
Merson rant ridiculed
Paul Merson has spoken at length on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday coverage of the emotions he would feel towards Marcelo Bielsa if he were a Leeds United fan.
Merson said he would be "fuming" if he were a Whites supporter in the wake of last weekend's 6-2 defeat at the hands of arch rivals Manchester United.
Leeds fans have hit back at the claim, stating that they are not angry in the slightest at Bielsa and his brand of football.
The former Arsenal maestro and less successful Walsall manager did concede that it made Leeds an entertaining watch, but that they could not continue playing in such a manner if they did not want to fall foul of similar results on a regular basis.
