Leeds United: Deadline Day incomings
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00:00Of course, speaking of signings, we'll move on now to Deadline Day. They brought in a
00:06couple of dead leads, didn't they? There was Tananka and Schmidt. Of course, they've already
00:10brought in a couple of others that we've mentioned on last week's podcast. So, I mean, thoughts
00:15on those again, I think after everything we've mentioned, it's just more fuel for the fire,
00:20I guess, in terms of firing leads up the league.
00:22Yeah, I think so. And there should be two good signings. I mean, obviously, everybody,
00:26as I say, everybody wanted a number 10. Daniel Farker wanted a number 10, but it didn't
00:29happen. And there's no point going on about that now because that is what it is. And they've
00:34not got one in and hope for the lavender firepower to go up anyway, as it is. But certainly,
00:39in terms of looking at those two, they should both be very good signings. And Tanaka's the
00:43one where you could look at him and see him potentially being a first-choice starter in
00:47time.
00:48I mean, I think, obviously, Daniel Farker was keen to bring in another midfielder. Obviously,
00:52they've lost Glenn Kamara in the summer and Archie Gray, obviously. I know Archie obviously
00:56played a lot, most of his games at right-back, but he is a midfielder. Let's be honest, that's
00:59his position and they've lost someone big there, obviously, with him. So, it was important
01:02that they strengthen the midfield. And I think Tanaka, the idea with him is that he'll probably
01:06bring a little bit more offensively going forward. The argument with the Leeds midfield
01:12a little bit is that when you've got sort of Gruev and Ampadu together, very, very solid.
01:15But is there enough sort of dynamism there in terms of creativity? And Rothwell provides
01:20a little bit more and slightly more attacking option. But I think Tanaka will be another
01:24level above that in terms of getting forward more. You look through his record and he has
01:28got lots of assists and lots of goals. He should tick plenty of boxes, really, and stuff.
01:32Good age, 25 years old, not cost an awful lot of money, about £3.3 million. It's not
01:38like they broke the bank to go and get him. So, lots of international experience. Was
01:43it 27 caps and eight goals? So, yes, he should be a very good signing. I think he'll become
01:50a favourite very quickly with the fan base as well. Obviously, they're trying to get
01:53some chance into his name already, using his name as AO, although I think it's actually
01:58pronounced Yau, but I don't think there's many chants that will go along with that one.
02:02But I think he's taken to it already. He went on Instagram straight away and sort of said,
02:06you know, thank you for my chant and stuff that the fans tried to do for him towards
02:10the end. So, that's nice to see. And hopefully, he'll settle in very, very quickly. So, yes,
02:14I think he'll be a very good signing. And then with Isaac Schmidt, it's a fascinating
02:18one, really, because it just remains to be seen what his best position is. I mean, basically,
02:21he's sort of described as a versatile full-back. But it was interesting in his interview with
02:26LUTV when he signed, he was sort of asked what his best position was or what to expect,
02:31where he could play. And he said, basically, I can play anywhere. I mean, it wasn't like
02:37anywhere across the back line. It was just anywhere. So, whether that means he can stick
02:40him up front or in goal, I don't know. I mean, let's not go crazy. It won't be in goal.
02:44But you look through his record and he has played most positions, really. And someone
02:47like that's obviously extremely valuable to have in the squad. You know, a bit like Stuart
02:51Dallas is the recent example of that, of having someone who can play just about anywhere,
02:55Shackleton obviously was a bit like that, but not to the same degree. So, hopefully,
02:58he comes in. I mean, if he gets anywhere near to Dallas levels and Leeds, he'll be laughing.
03:01But, you know, hopefully, you know, again, it'll be a good signing because, again,
03:04not cost an awful lot, 2.5 mil, four-year deal, 24. So, a good age, good experience.
03:10He's not a full international yet with Switzerland. He's got youth caps,
03:12but I'm sure that will hopefully come in time. So, yeah, he should be a very good option.
03:16I suspect with Isaac Schmidt, he'll probably start... Well, I mean,
03:20Sowol Tanaka could start off from the bench. But I think at first, he'll be a bench player.
03:24And then I think with him, you know, I could see him coming on at right back, coming on at left
03:28back, potentially other places as well. And if he comes on and impresses, then obviously, then it's,
03:32you know, up to Daniel Farker to then put him in the first team on a regular basis.
03:35With Tanaka as one of the two, you can imagine being a first-choice starter,
03:39you know, certainly more obviously. But that said, I mean, even that would be probably a
03:43bit harsh on Gruev, you know, considering the starts of the season they've had. So,
03:46but that's what it's all about. It's competition for places. That's what you need. You need a
03:50strong squad. As I say, you go through the lead squad and bench, lead squad now and pick, you know,
03:55getting your idea of a best 11 and benching it. And it's quite hard to pick and leave people out.
03:59And so that's the name of the game. That's what it's all about. Obviously, you know, Tanaka
04:04and Ramazani got minutes in the game against Hull off the bench, in which Solomon started,
04:08who was absolutely excellent as expected. So we've not seen Schmidt yet, but hopefully we'll see him,
04:12I'm sure we will see him after the international break. So yeah, I think pretty good signings,
04:16basically. Just the feeling really that it would have been, it really would have, you know,
04:20taken the summer window to a much different level had they gone out and splashed some decent cash on
04:25a number 10. I think everybody then would have been given the window like pretty high marks.
04:28And as it is, it's kind of like a bit like, well, you know, it could have been better,
04:32to be honest. But I think the bottom line is, is that even though it could have been better,
04:36they probably have assembled a squad there. Well, they have, I think, assembled a squad
04:40there that should be more than good enough to get promotion and automatic promotion at that.
04:45So now it's down to going out and doing it.