There is no doubt that Marcelo Bielsa is one of the best coaches we’ve had in the last 25 years – especially for the type of football that he had us playing. I remember that first game against Stoke City, being blown away and really hoping it wasn’t a fluke!
Obviously, it wasn’t and we went on to dominate nearly every team that we played in the Championship while causing many upsets in the Premier League.
Of course, his transfer policy was interesting as he demanded a very specific type of player, with high fitness levels, considerable technical ability and tactical awareness. It was an exciting time to be a Leeds fan and I remember that we were linked with a lot of high profile names – obviously, being Bielsa, he was a bit of a magnet for players.
While we did sign some quality players, there were others we were linked with that I would have loved and who have since gone on to great success at other clubs, which for one reason or another we weren’t able to sign.
Matheus Cunha
Wow, just wow. I remember when we were linked with him while he was at Hertha Berlin and from the footage I saw, he reminded me a little bit of Roberto Firmino. Once Atletico Madrid came calling though, we didn’t stand a chance, though with the type of football they played (and still do) I really didn’t think he’d fit in there. Obviously, since his move to Wolves, he’s smashed it and has since been linked to Arsenal. Oh, what could have been!
Rodrigo De Paul
When I saw we were linked with him, I got a rush of excitement – that summer, of course, he wasn’t the only Rodrigo we were linked to, but we landed the latter. Arguably (at the time), a higher profile signing as well. Strong-armed by Atletico Madrid twice, De Paul moved to the Spanish capital where he has gone from strength-to-strength, as well as winning the World Cup with Argentina as well.
Nahitan Nandez
The Uruguayan appeared to epitomise the type of steel and industry that Bielsa looks for in a central midfielder and he would have been a decent upgrade on Mateusz Klich, who actually did great for us in the Prem. Cagliari, owned by Massimo Cellino decided to play hardball though (coincidence?) and to me it seemed as though he bit his nose to spite his face. Reportedly we offered £15 million for him and it was still turned down.
