Leeds United: How will the summer pan out for Leeds?
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00:00Of course, though, if we, if we move on, the transfer window is now on the way. You mentioned
00:06that just previously about Crescenzio Somerville and the fact that he might, might not go given
00:12the fact that all she gray has to part of the club. Now on top of that, though, leads
00:17do probably need to make some signings. You mentioned that Sam Byram is now a bit exposed
00:22it right back. The fact that she has left. So in a sort of a quick summary, what, which
00:28targets and which positions do leads need to strengthen in?
00:31I think if you had to go blow by blow, I would say the first thing to do would be to try
00:35and keep Somerville. I think if you keep him, I think that'll be enormous. I mean, he was
00:39superb in the Championship last season. Obviously, that's why he won Championship Player of the
00:42Year. I mean, you know, with another year's experience under his belt, he could be absolutely
00:48frightening in the Championship. He was anyway last season. Him in the Championship again
00:51next season would be absolutely incredible. I mean, to think what he could achieve. I
00:55think it'd be very difficult to keep him purely because as much as leads probably now don't
01:00need to sell as such, there's bound to be interest in him. And all it takes is one big
01:04offer to come in. And I get the sense that some cross energy is pretty settled at leads
01:09and fairly very happy there. You know, I don't think there's any doubt about that. But obviously
01:12everybody wants to play at the highest level. I think if somebody comes in, bearing in mind
01:16there's still a fair bit left of the summer window, which doesn't even finish till a couple
01:20of weeks after the season starts at the end of August. Plenty of time to go yet. All it
01:24takes is someone's come in with a big offer and then the picture can change if that player
01:27wants to go or, to be honest, if the offer's too good to turn down. So that's going to
01:32be the standout story of the summer, I think, now that Archie's gone. Obviously, look at
01:36people like Nonto and Routier, who obviously has already been tested by a £30 million
01:40bid from Brighton, which was turned down. So they're two more to watch and obviously
01:43two very, very big players, especially Routier. We'll see what happens with Kamara as well.
01:47A bit of interest in him, obviously, and Mellier maybe. So really, it's like moving parts because
01:53it depends who stays as to what they need to go and get. Because if somebody goes and
01:56they obviously need replacing, really, that's the way I'd see it. But in terms of actually
01:59looking at it now, I think, yeah, you're totally right. I think a right-back is the obvious
02:03one. You've got to look at it also and say that it's not just Archie Gray. Obviously,
02:08Jamie Shackleton, as we speak, looks like he's closing on a move to Sheffield United.
02:11And although Shackleton wasn't a regular, he was pretty much a regular on the bench
02:15and he was someone who could play right-back, left-back or midfield, the same as Archie
02:19Gray. So basically, you've got two players there going that are pretty much in the same
02:22position. So I think, again, someone in at the very least who can play right-back, if
02:27not a new first-choice right-back would definitely be the main priority, I guess, really in terms
02:32of on the incomings front. And I'm sure that's something Leeds will do. Getting a right-back
02:35who could also play a left-back. I mean, most of them can really. It's different positions,
02:39but a full-back is usually a full-back would be a good idea because obviously Firpo's first-choice
02:44left-back, but again, not a huge amount of cover there. And then, obviously, the rest
02:49of it, as I say, it just depends on who stays and who goes. Although the fascinating one
02:54for me is going to be what happens up front with Leeds and in terms of the striker position
03:00because they didn't score enough goals last season, really. I mean, that's the brutal
03:03reality of it. They weren't short of goals, you know what I mean, in terms of they did
03:07score plenty, but all three teams that went up scored more than them, including Southampton
03:13and quite comfortably. So, I think Southampton got seven more than I think it was and a bit
03:16more for the other two teams. And goals win games and Leeds, it feels like they're just
03:22a little bit short on it, especially if you're relying so much on Somerville. So, I mean,
03:27as we sit here now, the striker situation is basically a choice of Bamford or Peru.
03:31Routier can play there as well. But obviously, the big thing there is Mateo Joseph and I
03:36don't know what to think of him, really. Well, I know what to think of him. I think he's
03:39a very, very good young player. But will he finally get a chance? Because he is obviously
03:43extremely, extremely exciting. I think maybe like, you know, it's kind of like he's maybe
03:49gone a bit above just bringing him on from the bench now, really. So, that's going to
03:53be the interesting one to see what happens there. Personally speaking, you can't just
03:56go out and buy whoever you want willy-nilly. But I think Leeds would benefit hugely if
04:00they went and got another striker. That's the way I would see it. Where that would leave
04:04Bamford and Peru, whether you could carry Bamford, Peru, another striker and Joseph,
04:08I mean, that's four remains to be seen. But I just think, you know, you can't have enough
04:12too many strikers and go and get another striker would be a very, very good move. But then
04:15they're not cheap either. So, that's going to be the one. So, in summary, I would say
04:19a right back and a striker would be the two that I would look at at the moment. Although
04:23you could very, very quickly open the case for pretty much any of the other positions
04:27if somebody else departs, you know. As I say, I think centre-back, they're probably all
04:32right, certainly in terms of starters, because obviously you've got Rodon and Stroyk and
04:36you can drop Ampadu back there. But then even centre-midfield, that depends what happens
04:40with Kamara. The wingers at the moment, they look like they're laughing with wingers. Obviously,
04:43you've got Brendan Aronson coming back as well. And, you know, as much people might
04:48turn their nose up at him coming back and whatever after the way he left on a loan clause,
04:52relegation release loan clause. The club did pay £25 million for him and he's still young
04:56and he's a USA international. So, I think he could have a big part to play if things
04:59go well. But then it depends what happens at Somerville, it depends what happens at
05:02Nantes. So, it's a difficult one to answer in terms of you could go through the whole
05:06positions. But as we are at the moment, I think right-back is clearly top of the agenda.
05:09And I just think Stroyk would be a good move too, but it just depends what happens with
05:13everybody else really. But there'll be lots more twists and turns, that's for sure. As
05:17I say, there's still a fair bit of this window left and I don't think we'll be struggling
05:20for things to report on, that's for sure.