Good Morning. It's Tuesday 5th April, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road…
Ayling opens up over Bielsa departureDuring a recent Interview, Luke Ayling opened up, and gave a heart-warming account of the emotions he went through, after hearing Marcelo Bielsa had been sacked. The ER favourite was at a children's party when he found out. He instantly made his way to Thorp Arch, where he broke down.
We were Championship players when he arrived and he turned us into Premier League players. We'll always be grateful to him. It was emotional. I was at a kids' party when I found out and passing by, so I popped into the training ground and gave him a big cuddle.
There were a few tears. It was horrible. He's gone back home to Argentina now, so the saddest part is not knowing if we'll ever see him again. The memories I will take from him come from when we got promoted. The morning after we were all at the training ground and he got driven in. We were all singing his name and I'll never forget his smile. We all felt that happiness.
Phillips doesn't want to play for Leeds, he wants to win thingsFormer England Striker Ian Wright has wound up Leeds fans, after stating that Kalvin Phillips 'doesn’t strike him as a player who wants to play for Leeds, he wants to win things'. The 58 year old was speaking on The Kelly & Wright Show when the subject of Phillips and Raphinha came up. Whilst we all know that Phillips loves the club, we must remember that by his own admission, he came close to joining Aston Villa in the Summer of 2019, and only some wise words from Victor Orta put a stop to it! According to Wrighty…
He’s a sought-after player. Phillips doesn’t strike me as a player who wants to play for Leeds. He wants to win things. Leeds need to start putting things in place where they’re challenging for Europe for the likes of him and Raphinha to stay but I think Raphinha will leave (this summer).
Aaronson or Ward-ProwseAndrea Radrizzani and Victor Orta have some important choices to make this Summer, none so more than in Midfield. In truth, Leeds could do with a couple of new faces in the middle of the park, but the most pressing would have to be 'attacking midfielder'. The position is currently occupied by Mateusz Klich. The Polish International, who turns 32 this Summer, has struggled since returning from burn-out during the latter parts of last season. Whilst he continuous to put in a shift each game, his anaerobic energy has dropped significantly over the past twelve months, prompting sections of the ER faithful to target him.
We all know that Brenden Aaronson is tipped to arrive this Summer, but what about Ward-Prowse? The 27 year old is not just a great midfielder, but he's a dead ball specialist too (as we saw last weekend). In 28 appearances so far this season, he has netted seven times, and laid on four assists! Aaronsen has three goals to his name, and four assists, but he is six years younger, and his price tag will be lower. It is expected that Leeds would need to part with £25-30m to make it worth RB Saltzberg selling him. Ward-Prowse would be expected to cost £40-45m, but is he worth the extra money?
Would Ward-Prowse even come to Leeds? Has the club's lack of ambition put top talent off from coming to Elland Road? Are outfits like Aston Villa considered bigger club's than Leeds? Would you have said the same at the end of last season?
Summerville hat-trick heroLeeds cruised to 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace last night, though bragging rights, quite rightly, could only go to one man. Crysencio Summerville bagged himself a hat-trick, including a sensational opener after just three minutes, bending the ball into the top corner, leaving Whitworth with no chance. He found the top corner again, ten minutes into the second half, having squandered a great opportunity moments earlier. Stuart McKinstry added a third on 68 minutes, after great work from Kenneh, and Summerville added the icing to the cake in the last minute from distance having rounded the keeper.
Gelhardt had to be substituted after 37 minutes with a dead leg. It was bad enough for Rob Price (Leeds Director of Medicine) to leave his seat in the stand (where he had been watching the game) to accompany the 19yo down the tunnel. It doesn't look good for Saturday for Joffy!
