Here are your latest Leeds United morning headlines for Thursday, June 30.
Mills backs big spending summer
Danny Mills has predicted a continued summer of big spending at Leeds following the potential departures of both Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips - likely to Chelsea and Manchester City respectively.
Fees have been agreed for both players with their respective suitors, and that could bring in over £100million for Victor Orta. The Whites’ director of football has a defining summer ahead as he looks to replace the club’s two best talents while rebuilding the squad in the post-Marcelo Bielsa era - and Mills has predicted their summer transfer business to intensify.
“They have made a couple of signings already,” Murphy told TalkSPORT . “There is obviously a willingness to back him (Marsch). What chances has he got if they don’t? There was an obvious lack of depth in the forward areas when Bamford was injured. They did get away with it a little bit.
READ MORE: Leeds United must beware the £100m-plus traps awaiting them in the summer transfer window
“But I would imagine Leeds United would spend, if they get that £100 million (for Phillips and Raphinha), and a bit more maybe. I think we will see Leeds spend big this summer. It would be suicidal not to spend that money they are getting it. They have to.”
Leeds have already spent a combined £45million on Brenden Aaronson, Rasmus Kristensen and Marc Roca.
Breakthrough season ahead for Bate
Despite being consistently outstanding for the under-23s last season, Lewis Bate was not given the first-team minutes that many fans would have hoped for. That was due in part to a relegation fight that required experience, but it was also partly due to the personnel ahead of him.
In Kalvin Phillips, Mateusz Klich, Stuart Dallas and Adam Forshaw, the 19-year-old had no clear senior version of himself in terms of playing style - the latter being the closest but by no means a mirror.
But the arrival of Marc Roca, rather than hinder Bate’s progress, has made his path into the first team clearer than ever as he now has a direct predecessor. The Spaniard’s deep-lying role in possession and range of passing matches his teenage teammate, and a complimentary partner can protect both from being exposed or overrun.
Having the former Bayern Munich man as a key man in Jesse Marsch’s starting lineup will benefit Bate, promoting him from general support to a bona fide back-up.
Raphinha to Blues would be an unexpected first
Chelsea are now leading the race for the Brazilian after agreeing a fee in the region of £60million, and new owner Todd Boehly is wasting no time in securing personal terms as they try to pip the likes of Arsenal and Barcelona.
With the London-based club able to offer a significant pay-rise, Champions League football and regular minutes, they will be confident of offering everything the Whites winger wants. But if Raphinha does move to Stamford Bridge, he will be the first ever senior Leeds player to move directly to the Blues.
The two clubs shared a vehement and violent rivalry throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and since then no players has gone directly to Chelsea from Elland Road. A few players have come the other way, however, including Tony Dorigo, Michael Duberry and Jody Morris.
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