Transfers are on the agenda at Leeds United this week as Jesse Marsch and Victor Orta meet to discuss targets ahead of the summer window. The head coach and director of football had a sit-down scheduled between the Southampton and Watford games to talk more about how the recruitment shortlists are looking.
The transfer window does not open until June 10 and everything rests on how the run-in goes given the results will dictate the division and thus the budget Orta has to work with. However, it is wise for the two men at the forefront of the club’s footballing operation to establish who they like, what they need and what Marsch is making of his squad after more than a month in the job.
Marsch lifted the lid on the approach he likes to take with recruitment last week, even citing the example of the much-talked-about Brenden Aaronson, who was signed for Red Bull Salzburg while he was in charge. He said: “Victor and I, we were having a scouting meeting next week (beginning April 4), because most of his scouts were out watching games during the international break.
GO HERE: Rate Jesse Marsch's opening month in charge of Leeds United
“We've had some discussions already. I don't know exactly how it worked when Marcelo was here, but I understand my role is to be the manager and then we have a sports director and a group of scouts that look at how to build within our team.
“So I like to give profiles of the types of players I like and then I like the sports director and the scouts to work diligently to do their jobs and then present players. Then we work through it together and we make decisions together because I find it's really important when new players come everyone is fully aligned so it's not like 'well this player belongs to this sports director or this scout or this manager.’
“I can tell you the whole talk with Brenden Aaronson, this all happened before I even came here. Now I know Brenden, I coached him and he's an American, and he's a great player, but even when he came to Salzburg, Salzburg found him or knew about him before and came to me before he even came.
“Then we worked together to think this was the right player for us. So that's how I like to work and that's what I think is really important with scouting.”
The matter had come up when Marsch was asked about his striking options in light of Patrick Bamford’s latest, and long-standing, injury. Even with Bamford fit, does the club need to strengthen that department for when injuries inevitably hit again?
“In terms of the position, we have some talented players there and we have some flexibility with all the players we have up front, but yes, we might need to look to find another attacker or two and one specifically that is a number nine,” he said. “That is a possibility, but we will discuss that more next week and maybe I can answer that question better next week as well.”
