As Jesse Marsch pulls up at Thorp Arch this morning to begin Leeds United’s latest day of training, he will, first, breathe a sigh of relief he no longer has to dodge the transfer-shaped elephant in every press conference he negotiates. Then, he can reflect on the arsenal of weapons he has at his disposal for the second half of the season as they trot out onto the pitches to get to work.
As was clear with the recent appointment of his long-time confidant Chris Armas, Marsch could not have asked for more support or backing from the Elland Road hierarchy in January. Andrea Radrizzani and 49ers Enterprises have put their money where their mouth is and given the head coach everything they can to stay in the Premier League come May.
The left side of defence was addressed, in a fashion, the club’s transfer record was broken to secure top-level competition for Rodrigo and Patrick Bamford before the unexpected, but entirely welcome, addition of a Mateusz Klich replacement worth more than £30m in the summer. To then hang onto Jack Harrison through last night’s 11pm deadline when many had accepted the squad could cope with his exit, only crushes a couple more potential excuses down the line.
