Leeds United will be playing Premier League football on Saturday for the first time since 2004, and the newly-promoted side will be more than keen to prove themselves against defending champions Liverpool.
Whites head coach Marcelo Bielsa have added just Spanish striker Rodrigo Moreno and German centre-back Robin Koch to his squad this summer as he is keen to retain the core of his squad from last season.
It remains to be seen if other first-team signings are expected, but talkSPORT pundit Adrian Durham isn’t impressed with the recruitment Leeds have made so far, and he believes they are going to be relegated given the quality of their team.
“I think Leeds will be relegated, I think Bielsa will leave as well. I think the recruitment…Leeds are going to be relegated and Bielsa will leave,” Durham predicted.
“They are a newly-promoted side and here is the thing. I think recruitment has shown a bit of disregard for the levels required in the Premier League. Ben White is gone and I think a lot is being asked of Kalvin Phillips. We don’t know if he’ll be able to prove it in the Premier League but I personally believe he’s good enough.
“But I look around the rest of the Leeds team, and I see Stuart Dallas at full-back, Luke Ayling at full-back, and I think they are decent, they have done great and have improved drastically, but these are players that were bottom half of the Championship some years ago. For him to improve and get them to where they have been now is amazing, but to take them to another level where they survive in the Premier League may well even be beyond Bielsa.”
👀 “I think Leeds will be relegated & Bielsa will leave…”
❌ “Recruitment has shown a bit of disregard for the levels required in the #PL.”
⚪️ Adrian Durham makes a bold #LUFC prediction ahead of the new season
Goughie couldn’t believe it 🤣 pic.twitter.com/etIKEl5p9T
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) September 10, 2020
Indeed, the Premier League is a different ball game compared to the Championship, but Leeds were head and shoulders above every other team in the division last term and ended up proving that they deserve to be in the top-flight.
While they won’t be splashing the cash this summer, the Elland Road outfit are making some smart moves in the window and could be wrapping up deals for Dinamo Zagreb centre-back Josko Gvardiol and Udinese midfielder Rodrigo De Paul in the coming days.
Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani is more than ready to make the necessary investments in order to get the club going, and establishing them as a top-eight side going forward will be his plans.
Relegation? No one is thinking about that apart from Derby County and Aston Villa fans, and Durham.
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