Here are the Leeds United morning headlines for Monday, June 22.
No chance of Edmondson recall - Whelan
Former Leeds striker Noel Whelan believes there is no future for Ryan Edmondson at the club while Marcelo Bielsa is in charge.
Edmondson, without an appearance since September 2018, failed to make Bielsa’s 20-man matchday squad for Leeds’ 2-0 defeat by Cardiff City on Sunday.
And despite an injury to Jean-Kevin Augustin, Whelan believes Leeds fans should not hold their breath over a possible recall for the 19-year-old forward.
“You’ve got an opportunity to put nine players on your bench, use five of them,” Whelan told BBC Radio Leeds.
“If he’s not on there now, you aren’t going to see him. Simple as that. He’s just not in Marcelo Bielsa’s plans.”
Bielsa may use Poveda in promotion push
Ian Poveda’s debut in the defeat by Cardiff suggests Bielsa is finally willing to use the former Manchester City youngster in Leeds’ bid to secure Premier League football.
Poveda, 20, replaced Helder Costa with 13 minutes remaining on Sunday, suggesting the winger could have a role to play as the Whites try to seal their return to the top flight.
Speaking after the match, Bielsa offered some insight into why he decided to hand Poveda his long-awaited debut.
“The minutes he played, even if he didn’t imbalance his side, he made some contribution to the play,” said Bielsa in his post-match press conference.
"If you consider the kind of match we were playing, with the opponent too close to their own box, it’s more difficult to attack in those conditions, but he has some good capacity to adapt himself to reduced spaces.
“He is an agile player.”
Injury may scupper Augustin deal
Whelan has also had his say on Augustin’s future at Elland Road following the Frenchman’s torrid time with injuries.
The 23-year-old joined the Whites on loan from RB Leipzig in January but has only managed three substitute appearances during his time in England.
And Whelan fears the striker would struggle to pass a medical should Leeds decide to pursue a permanent deal.
"It’s troubling times for the young man and after working so hard to get back, there’s still that weakness in that area and it doesn’t look good,” he told Football Insider.
"It doesn’t look good on a medical, put it that way.
"It is because it means it’s not healing properly, his body’s not healing the way it should do. I’ve had problems with hamstrings myself and it depends what sort of cut or tear you get.
"You’ve got to have people that are fully fit, you can’t have people who are getting injuries in the same place."
