Good Morning. It's Monday 15th November, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Leeds lining up swift bid
Multiple media sources are reporting that Leeds are lining up a bid for Reading midfielder John Swift. The 26 year old has had an electric start to the season with the Royals, finding the back of the net on eight accessions, as well as seven assists! He has also featured in all 17 league games this term, a far cry from his 14 last season due to injury. Wolves and Burnley are also interested in the former Chelsea youngster.
Orta makes contact with Nketiah
Media reports have suggested that Victor Orta has made recent contact with Eddie Nketiah regarding a move to West Yorkshire in January. The 22 year old has become surplus to requirements at the Emirates after refusing to sign a new deal at the North London club. Instead of waiting until next Summer when multiple clubs will be scrambling for his signature, the Leeds Director of Football wants to strike first whilst the iron is hot.
Crystal Palace has a bid accepted in the region of £12m, but Nketiah could not agree personal terms with Patrick Viera. Currently, Leeds have one (goal scoring) striker in the first XI, but with the emergence of Joe Gelhardt, they could soon have further options up front! Would £8-10m be a bargain for Nketiah?
Do we miss Alioski more than we thought we would
Social media lit up over the weekend when Ezgjan Alioski posted a picture of himself with Illan Meslier. The French U21 shot-stopper is preparing to take on North Macedonia's U21's on Tuesday evening, whilst 'the Duracell bunny helped his senior side (and also opened the scoring) to a 3-1 win over Iceland.
Alioski left Elland Road in the Summer, to sign a lucrative deal with Saudi outfit Al-Ahli. Whilst he was not blessed with the same kind of skill-set as Raphinha; his heart, determination, and ability to cover every blade of grass meant that the mischievous 29yo got plenty of game time during his four years at Elland Road.
The squad at Elland Road has time on its side
There's an interesting piece in 'The Athletic' this morning written by Specialist Data Analyst Mark Carew and Phil Hay regarding at what age and position football players reach their peak, and then comparing it to Leeds, and their exploits this season!
Leeds have a small crop of first-team regulars who are in their 30s and slightly beyond what football would class as their peak, but the majority are below that point and some, such as Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford, are right in the zone where Leeds should be getting most out of them. If the younger crop is as good as Leeds think it is, Bielsa has a good hand to work with and his successor stands to inherit plenty of players on the rise.
In The Athletic’s framework of when footballers peak in their careers, the analysis found that goalkeepers peak at 28, centre-backs at 27, full-backs and central midfielders at 25, wingers and attacking midfielders at 26 and strikers at 27. That correlation can be seen in Phillips and Bamford, both of whom have made the England squad right at the point of peak age.
The data provides some context for the state of the squad at Leeds and guidance for managing it in forthcoming transfer windows. The graphic is a breakdown of the ages of each of Bielsa’s players showing where they fall in relation to the stage when their impact should peak". "Looking at the results, the club have a good number of names either in the red “peak” zone or to the left of it, a sign of how reluctant they are to pay for players who have already come through the development phase.
Raphinha could yet to be at his peak, which is one reason, beyond his obvious talent, that he would appeal to elite European teams. Illan Meslier, too, is 21 and a long way off his maximum value, putting him in the list of players who Leeds can expect to see improvement in. Several others are already Premier League regulars or have been blooded in the division: Jack Harrison, Daniel James, Pascal Struijk and Robin Koch.
