Good morning, Leeds fans. Here are your morning headlines for Saturday, July 11.
Warnock: Leeds deserve Premier League promotion
Neil Warnock says "fabulous" Leeds United deserve to return to the Premier League this season after a 16-year exile.
The 71-year-old coach, who took charge of the Whites for 62 games between 2012 and 2013 and is now at Championship relegation battlers Middlesbrough, said: “I do hope Leeds and West Brom go up, if I’m honest.
“Leeds have been a fabulous club and they’ve had their breakdowns over the years.
“Before lockdown, they (Leeds and West Brom) were the best teams. They deserve to be in the top flight.”
Two victories and a draw in the final four games of the season will be enough to see Leeds back in the top flight.
Bielsa’s post-lockdown decisions vindicated
Since the Championship's restart, only Brentford and Wigan Athletic have claimed more points than Leeds – and that is down to how manager Marcelo Bielsa has handled his squad.
As detailed in further depth here, the Argentine has done it in three ways.
Firstly, he made the judgement that Pablo Hernandez isn’t currently capable of playing a full 90 minutes.
“As United’s most accomplished lock-pick, it’s a bold call to leave Hernandez out of starting line-ups with Leeds in search of all-important openers," writers Nestor Watach.
“But that courage has been rewarded as his team-mates have stepped up to the place to put Leeds ahead against Fulham and Preston, and Hernandez has stepped in to exploit the space that opens up as tiring opposition legs push forward to try and get back into the game.”
Watach also points out that Bielsa’s decisions have been vindicated when he’s been forced to make big selection issues, while also using the extra tools at his disposal as the games come thick and fast.
Leeds to seal transfer tanks to academy achievement
Northern Ireland youngster Charlie Allen is finally set to complete his move to Leeds, according to Football Insider.
The Championship leaders reached an agreement to sign the 16-year-old from Linfield in May for a fee believed to be £300,000, although the coronavirus pandemic prevented them finalising the transfer.
But now Allen is set to be unveiled after Leeds’ academy was awarded category one status for the first time in the club’s history.
It means they benefit from more Premier League funding for youth players, as well as allowing their under-23s to play in the Premier League 2 next season.
