If there’s one area that it’s obvious Leeds need to strengthen in it’s at centre-back.
The Whites only have one senior centre-half available after Ben White returned to Brighton after his loan spell and Gaetano Berardi picked up an injury that should keep him on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
Fortunately, the transfer window is well underway, and United’s promotion to the Premier League has provided them with the financial power needed to plug the gaps in their defence, and it seems as though they plan on doing just that.
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However, despite wanting a centre-back, Leeds may be on the cusp of making a dire mistake in the transfer market.
Phil Hay has recently stated that the Whites’ plan is to offer Berardi a new deal despite his long-term injury, while they only plan to buy just one centre-back this summer, be that White or someone else.
This will leave them with just two senior accomplished centre-halves for the majority the season, one of which has only two Premier League appearances to his name.
If Cooper or their new man were to get injured they’d be calling on the likes of Pascal Struijk or Oliver Casey, who simply don’t have the experience to be relied on to keep out some of the world’s best attackers, while moving Luke Ayling or Kalvin Phillips to centre-back remains another option, but then you’d need to plug the gaps in the midfield or at full-back.
As Hay says, Leeds giving Berardi a new deal is the decent thing to do, and once he’s back from injury there will be more depth, but ACL tears aren’t fixed in just a few weeks, the Swiss international is facing months on the sidelines, and United need more than one centre-back so that they have adequate cover for any other injuries or suspensions that occur.
