The Leeds United squad will report for duty this morning to begin their preparations for the 2022-23 Premier League campaign. The season will kick off in just six weeks’ time when the Whites host Wolverhampton Wanderers at Elland Road and Jesse Marsch will be keen to make his mark on the squad after steering them to safety last month.
The club will spend a chunk of pre-season on tour in Australia, where they will take on Brisbane Roar, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, while they are expected to play a couple more friendlies over the course of next month.
Marsch has plenty of work to do between now and the start of the season and while his players are expected to return to training in relatively good shape, he’ll hope to have them fit and firing in preparation for the season ahead. With the start of pre-season in mind, here’s a look at some of the key jobs facing Marsch over the next few weeks.
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Build confidence
As they slipped down the league table last season, the Whites looked bereft of belief and confidence. Defeats to the likes of Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea seemed inevitable and at times it looked as though the club were destined for the drop.
Four points from the last two games proved enough in the end to secure safety and the relief at the full-time whistle at the Brentford Community Stadium was there for all to see. Marsch must build on that feeling in the coming weeks and instill a strong mentality into his players.
They’ve sent a message with their business in the transfer window so far and while Kalvin Phillips’ expected departure is a blow, the club are looking to make a few more additions in the weeks and months to come. Marsch has shown he is an upbeat individual and if that attitude can rub off on his team, Leeds could enter the new season brimming with confidence.
Settle on a best XI
Marsch had one job when he arrived at Elland Road at the end of February following the dismissal of Marcelo Bielsa and that was to secure the club’s Premier League status. He always going to take time to get to grips with his squad, but as the season wore on, he began to chop and change his side with regularity.
The formation was altered as Leeds switched from four at the back to three, while players were pulled in and out of the starting line-up as the head coach looked to get points on the board by any means possible. Both Lewis Bate and Sam Greenwood got starts in the middle of the park, while Mateusz Klich and Rodrigo were in and out of the side.
From the outside looking in, it looked as though Marsch was struggling to figure out his best team. As such, he’ll be keen to find consistency in selection moving forward in the hope of building up a reliable and stable side.
Fix injury issues
Leeds were amongst the hardest hit for injuries in the Premier League last season and Marsch will be doing all he can to avoid a similar record next time around. Of course, misfortune was to blame for a lot of the Whites’ problems, but they have been proactive in their bid to limit further injuries.
The club have signed up to use Zone7 next season, alongside the likes of Liverpool and Rangers. The artificial intelligence platform will hopefully help to highlight the risk of injury and help the club manage their squad better throughout the toughest periods of the year.
If Leeds are to avoid another relegation battle next season, they’ll need to keep their best players on the park and Marsch, who believed his players were ‘overtrained’ under Bielsa, will be doing all he can to prevent the treatment room filling up.
Make decisions on youngsters
The Whites have a handful of players who are reaching that awkward point between the under-21s side and the first-team. The likes of Crysencio Summerville, Charlie Cresswell and Sam Greenwood are now considered too strong for the youth ranks and are in desperate need of game time at a first-team level.
Marsch spoke about giving chances to his best young stars towards the end of last season, but that becomes harder when the team is at full strength. As such, a decision needs to be made about whether they are ready to be advanced into a first-team position this season, or whether they would be best served spending time away from Elland Road on loan.
The aforementioned trio wouldn’t be short of options at a high level if they were to be made available, but Marsch may have other plans for them.
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