Here are the latest Leeds United morning headlines on Thursday, March 31.
Keane’s Leeds verdict
Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane believes Leeds United will do enough to stay up following consecutive wins before the international break. The Whites secured dramatic late victories over Norwich City and Wolves to move seven points clear of the bottom three.
Prior to that, Leeds had lost six matches in a row and looked as if they were only going one way – particularly due to the nature of the defeat to Aston Villa. However, Keane thinks that Leeds will just about secure survival and praised the ‘energy’ of the players even on bad days.
Speaking on the Overlap, he said: “Those back-to-back wins were huge for Leeds. As bad as they were against Wolves… they still won their games. You find a way to win a football match and Leeds have done that. I think Leeds will be okay. That energy… sometimes when you watch your team you go, ‘I don’t even see energy or enthusiasm’. Whereas Leeds – sometimes as bad as they are some days – they do have energy.”
READ MORE: Pundit backs Leeds United to stay in the Premier League as he delivers Marcelo Bielsa verdict
Dembele u-turn
Reports have suggested that Raphinha's proposed move to Barcelona could now be off with Xavi Hernandez winning his battle to convince Ousmane Dembele to stay at the club. According to Mundo Deportivo, the Frenchman has had a change of heart and will now sign a new contract.
It is understood that Raphinha was going to replace Dembele at the Spanish giants after struggling to cement his place in the side. But the source has claimed that Dembele, whose contract runs out at the end of the season, is now loving life under manager Xavi and feels it would be a mistake to walk away now – meaning their interest in the Leeds United man could cool.
Read more here.
Rodrigo on Marsch
Leeds United attacker Rodrigo Moreno has enjoyed the transition away from one-v-one marking since Jesse Marsch’s arrival at the club. Marsch has now had a month in charge of the Whites and has introduced a more zonal orientated pressing style on the squad.
His predecessor, Marcelo Bielsa, had a different way of pressing. It involved man to man marking, which was a great success at the club up until the final few months of his tenure. In an interview with the BBC, Rodrigo believes the change in style has helped the squad in recent weeks.
He said: “It's true that we changed everything, because we had a completely different style of football with Marcelo. We had this one-v-one marking that maybe was penalising us too much, especially in defensive moments because our position is always a function of the opponent. I think now that the methodology, the way of play change, and because everyone is occupying the zone, and share better the spaces in the field. So maybe [it] gives us more energy to defend and to attack as well.”
Read more from Rodrigo here.
