Here are your Leeds United evening headlines on Friday, April 1.
Robinson worried about Raphinha's disturbances
Ex-England international Paul Robinson is worried that the rumours circulating surrounding Raphinha's future could cause some unrest in the Leeds United camp. The 25-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona, Liverpool and Arsenal in the summer after impressing in a Whites shirt.
He has scored 15 times and grabbed 12 assists in 59 appearances for Leeds since joining from Rennes in October 2020, becoming one of their most important players. Having missed the 3-2 win over Wolves with Covid-19 before the international break, Raphinha will surely be as keen as ever to impress when the Whites host Southampton this weekend.
READ MORE: Southampton's eight internationals which may hand Leeds United an Elland Road advantage
However, Robinson has different views ahead of the Premier League run in. The Whites currently sit seven points the bottom three and he admits that Raphinha's attitude could have an effect on the whole squad.
"Raphinha is a top-class player and when he performs, he’s one of the best there is,” Robinson told MOT Leeds News. But after the last season that he’s had, there may be a little unrest in the dressing room and maybe he thinks, towards the end, that he’s better than Leeds.
"I wouldn’t stand in the way of a deal to let him go at all. I’d make sure they fully maximise the price and invest that money back in the squad to make sure Leeds stay in the Premier League next year."
Carragher outlines Leeds' safety net
Jamie Carragher believes that Leeds United's 'mad' style football will keep them in the Premier League this season. Back-to-back victories over Wolves and Norwich City have lifted the Whites seven points clear of the relegation zone and it has given them a platform to build on heading into the run-in.
Jesse Marsch has won two of his opening four matches in charge after he replaced Marcelo Bielsa as the club's manager. The long-standing Argentine was dismissed following five defeats in six matches and many supporters were worried about their fate in the top-flight.
The former RB Leipzig boss has seemingly managed to make the Whites more organised and better out of possession, which proved to be Bielsa's wrongdoing. But it is Leeds' attacking play that will keep them up according to Carragher.
He told The Overlap: "Do you think what you said about watching Leeds should come with a health warning, that sort of madness, is that something that could keep you up? When I think of the other teams down there, I do watch them and think how they could score a goal.
"But when I watch Leeds, they could concede two but score four. It is mad, sometimes you watch certain things when you're commentating and working on games and you cannot believe what you are seeing. But I do think that madness around Leeds and in games will keep you up."
Hasenhuttl issues Saints fitness warning
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has no news on the fitness of his players who went away on international duty. He did, however, issue a positive update on four members of his squad ahead of the trip to Leeds United.
James Ward Prowse, Kyler Walker-Peters, Fraser Forster, Tino Livramento, Che Adams, Stuart Armstrong, Mohamed Elyounossi, Armando Broja and Moussa Djenepo have all been away with their respective countries over the last two weeks. Hassenhuttl, though, will not know the state in which they have comeback in until later today.
It has been a busy week on the international front for the Saints as Walker-Peters was involved in both of England’s games at Wembley, while Ward Prowse played 80 minutes in the second fixture against Cote d’ivoire. Livramento, Broja, Adams and Elyounossi started both of their country’s matches, with Armstrong and Djenepo also featuring in two games.
Back at their Staplewood training complex, though, the brief hiatus from the Premier League season has enabled them to get a number of bodies back into training ahead of the clash with Leeds. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Hasenhuttl issued the following update.
He said: "I think Alex McCarthy is back in light training with the goalkeepers, Will Smallbone had Covid but is back in training, Oriol was a little doubt with some stomach problems, but he is back in. Nathan Tella is also back training with the team. So far, I have no messages about injuries from the internationals, I will see them this afternoon.”
