Here are your Leeds United morning headlines for Wednesday, 21 October.
Former Leeds midfielder claims new man was ready for debut before injury
Leeds will be without Diego Llorente for three of weeks, with the centre-back picking up a groin injury while away on international duty.
It’s a blow for the Whites, and one which was exacerbated by Liam Cooper’s injury in the warm-up ahead of Monday’s meeting with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Not least because, according to former Leeds midfielder Michael Brown, the former Real Sociedad man was on the verge of being handed a debut by Marcelo Bielsa.
“He wasn’t on the bench against Sheffield United but he was on the bench against Manchester City,” Brown told Football Insider.
“That tells you that Bielsa has a lot of faith in him. He doesn’t put them near the squad if the levels are there.
“He obviously believed he was up to speed.”
Llorente, who moved to Elland Road in a deal worth a reported £18million, is expected to be out for three weeks with his groin problem.
While he has yet to feature for Bielsa’s side, the 27-year-old played 90 minutes for Spain against Portugal earlier this month.
Three ways Leeds could line up without injured Kalvin Phillips
Leeds’ injury list has become even longer, with Kalvin Phillips sustaining a shoulder injury towards the end of Monday’s defeat against Wolves.
The midfielder had played every minute of the Whites’ Premier League season, so his absence will be tough to take.
Phillips is expected to miss six weeks of action - a not-insignificant lay-off, even with an international break in the middle of that period - so Marcelo Bielsa will have a challenge on his hands to work out how to cope without the England international.
The issue is made worse by the absence of fellow midfielder Adam Forshaw, who is still working his way back from a long-term injury, but Leeds do have options.
We’ve taken a closer look at how Bielsa can deal with the absence of Phillips, picking three potential solutions to the problem.
Marcelo Bielsa has found a new defensive leader
With Liam Cooper enduring a stop-start beginning to the 2020/21 season, it has been a challenge for Leeds to ensure a level of leadership in their back-line.
While the captain’s qualities are well-known, those behind Cooper in the queue have less experience of running the show at Elland Road, due to either inexperience or unfamiliarity with English football.
Bielsa has needed someone to step up and take the reins, and in Robin Koch he appears to have found that man.
The German, who arrived from Freiburg for £13m over the summer, has been required to adapt quickly as a regular starter after Leeds were unable to clinch a deal for Ben White and have yet to see Diego Llorente in action.
Koch has grown into his role quickly, but he took things up another notch with his display against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night.
We’ve taken a closer look at his performance, to get a feel for what he is beginning to offer the team after just a few weeks in the Premier League.
