Do Leeds United need to Recruit in this Transfer Window?

Article by Gwyn Hughes

Leeds United are flying!

The dark days of early season are a dim and distant memory to the point that I am starting to question they actually existed! The thought that manager Garry Monk was a game away from the sack makes me almost want to turn religious and run to my local church to say thanks to the Big Man!

This Leeds team has evolved so much in recent months. It is now a vastly different animal from the one we saw in September. We are now capable of mauling any team in the Sky Bet Championship, especially after what I saw against Derby County last Friday night.

That was a proper team performance!

It was widely regarded as the best Leeds had played for many a year. With important players unavailable, they were able to adapt and maintain high performance levels to win the match. Which they’ve been doing most of the season to be fair.

Promotion form that!

In Friday night’s game they had three right backs in defence who didn’t put a foot wrong. The ‘defence problem’ that we were all concerned about after the Cambridge game seems to be not a problem at all. I for one thought that a centre back had to be bought before the Derby game, with Cooper injured and Jansson suspended. We coped so well with The Rams I wasn’t so worried after the match, only highly impressed and delighted. So do we need to recruit?

Yes we do, but…

At this time of year every supporter in the land is checking daily who’s buying who. It’s not different at Leeds. With new investment having come in recently they are definitely in the market to compete to get decent players.

It’s plain to see though that good business was done before the season kicked off and the players that need to be Leeds United players are already at the club. Monk made important loan signings last summer. All have settled in well, and in all but the nature of their contracts are Leeds players to the fans. The results speak for themselves. Being third in the league in January indicates that we have a pretty decent squad of players at the club.

Monk has nurtured a tight group in only a relatively short space of time.

Half a season!

Other teams in the league have had more time to find that cohesiveness, an established foundation that is needed for promotion.

Teams like Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield and Brighton have worked over many seasons to get where they are. The footings at Elland Road were placed during the summer when Monk was installed as manager but the change in fortunes has been freakish quick; we are all numbed by what’s happened and have entered Nirvana because of it.

The current team members have openly discussed how close they are, bonded by the club’s mantra of togetherness. A band of brothers that will fight for points in every game they play in. They socialize often, and the body language displayed on the pitch is one that promotes encouragement and support with each other’s endeavours. A joy to witness if you are a Leeds fan.

Monk’s been clever in assessing the personality of each incoming player and how they can positively influence and mould with the wonderfully gifted young players we already have at the club.

The balance is perfect.

A masterstroke was to team up Luke Ayling and Kyle Bartley again, once of Arsenal youth, and best friends for ten years. A mutual and brotherly relationship that is benefiting the team big time. Bartley’s regular partner at the back, Pontus Jansson, has been a revelation and both are regarded as the best pairing in the league. Ronaldo Viera is a sensation at only 18 years of age.

So, getting a bunch of new players in may not be a good idea. Most managers would be licking their lips in Monk’s situation. A wealthy man suddenly arrives (well hovering in the background for seven months actually!) at your club with all that money to spend…

But Monk’s not like that.

He is keenly aware of the almost Zen state that he has achieved with this group of players. His calmness and patience building the players belief systems has complemented his methodical approach to each game. His mental state is in the now and not where the team will be come May. In interviews he appears to be a man totally at ease with his philosophy (sorry!) and confidence in his abilities to progress the group under his tutelage.

He is a man with a plan and Leeds fans are collectively buying into it. If Monk says we need no players in January I would actually believe him! But he wants a couple, at least.

Keeping the group happy is more important to him than being seen to buy big players with hefty fees just because he can. I remember Simon Grayson being of similar attitude when he was manager and he’s not doing too badly with what he’s got at Preston either, is he?

The feeling coming out of the club is that no-one is panicking. We don’t need to buy just for the sake of it, because it’s the done thing in January, in order to make sure we get promotion. The infrastructure for promotion is already embedded in the DNA of the players and staff there now.

Form, however, can dip if players get tired, injured or suspended. That’s the only reason for getting a couple in at this time.

Relationships are governed by fragile dynamics that can easily be altered and disrupted by incoming players with inflated egos. It could be difficult for any incoming player to fit in with an already bonded group. It’s happened before and not just at Leeds.

Even Alex Ferguson made sure he didn’t sign rotten apples for his team. I am reliably informed by my son that Javier Hernandez was assessed for about a year before Man Utd signed him up. Considering he came from Mexico that took some organising! I reckon they got that right, though. I wouldn’t have minded him in my team.

But haven’t we been worried about lack of depth at Leeds for years? Fledgling promotion challenges have faltered because of it. I used to look on with unashamed envy at other clubs being able to call upon quality players off their bench just to play bit part roles in games. Although important in the overall scheme of things, such players would turn defeats and draws into vital wins. Middlesbrough did it by signing Jordan Rhodes last January which was acknowledged by everyone at the time as the clincher for promotion. Which it was.

Derby County just this past week signed another big hitter in the Championship who should help them get to at least the play-offs. David Nugent cost £2.5 million, at 31, to sit on the bench and called upon when needed. Fortunately he didn’t do his usual stuff (scoring against Leeds) on Friday night!

Although Luke Ayling was excellent at centre back against Derby, I still prefer him at right back. He has been phenomenal this season. So, at least one centre back is needed. I hear that Liam Lindsey of Partick Thistle could be joining us sometime, likely to be the summer. A sound acquisition I feel. Under the guidance of Monk I feel he could be a player of Premier quality.

Which means that perhaps a short term solution might be arriving this month. I can’t believe Monk will rely on Ayling again when Pontus gets his next ban!

A striker is also a must at least until the end of the season. We need someone similar to Wood to take over now and again in games. I like the look of Sergi Canos, one of the many forwards on the books of Norwich who strangely can’t get a game with The Canaries. Sounds familiar that! Not the same kind of player as Wood though but nevertheless an exciting option on the wing.

I have a feeling that Monk will choose a lower league player, someone with promise, to deputise for Wood. He has done a terrific job on Kemar Roofe so why not.

The problem Monk has is that with such a settled and successful side, not many will want to come to Leeds to sit on the bench. Which rules out established regulars of other teams. Perhaps this was the reason why Nugent didn’t come to Leeds. Plus the fact that they probably didn’t value him at £2.5 mil!

I wouldn’t necessarily see it that way. If we had someone with Premier or Championship experience he could share the burden. He would be used from the bench or start when needed and still maintain the same quality on the pitch. He would still get decent game time and be a valuable member of the team.

However, I am confident that Garry Monk will find the necessary personnel who will boost our squad this month. That’s all it needs. A little tweak here and there.

Could make the difference between Leeds going up automatically or end up in the play-off spots.

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