Seven Leeds United players are right at the heart of delivering Jesse Marsch’s vision to the rest of the squad as quickly as possible with eight games left to ensure Premier League survival. The head coach has discussed the leadership council he has promoted at Thorp Arch on several occasions, but recently pulled back the curtain on who is in it and what their role is under him.
Stuart Dallas, Luke Ayling, Liam Cooper and Adam Forshaw combine experience and longevity at Elland Road to form an obvious leadership group, but there are three names Marsch gave which may have raised some eyebrows. Rodrigo is the second-oldest member of the squad, but has only been with Leeds since summer 2020, while Patrick Bamford and Kalvin Phillips are still a few years younger than Cooper et al.
“So right now, you know, again, these are the initial phases, so I'm happy,” said Marsch. “I first met with five guys and then I added two more. So right now it's Liam, it's Luke, who I've also learned his name is Bill. Okay. It's Adam. It's Rodrigo. It's Kalvin. It's Stuart and it's Patrick. So those seven guys right now.”
