Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Leeds chief Kinnear backs Bielsa and highlights three young talents ready to step up
Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has the backing of the club’s managing director Angus Kinnear. These are exciting times at Elland Road. The Yorkshire club are celebrating their centenary year, and heading into the new Championship campaign with genuine promotion hopes.
Last season, Bielsa led the Whites to the play-offs. This time around, the Argentine coach will be hoping to go one better and restore Leeds to the Premier League. According to Kinnear, speaking at a Q&A event at Elland Road, and quoted by the , Bielsa “is absolutely adamant that the players he’s got are all going to be better than they were last season”.
Kinnear continued, revealing that Bielsa has highlighted three Leeds youngsters who he is expecting to kick on this season. Kinnear said, “I think you’ll see the likes of Jamie Shackleton and Jack Clarke really step up. We’ve seen Jack Harrison already in pre-season emerging as a real talent.”
Shackleton, Clarke and Harrison all played plenty of football last season. The experience they gained then will stand them in good stead for the coming campaign, especially as they are now known quantities and have the weight of expectation to deal with as well.
That being said, Bielsa is an expert at developing and nurturing young talents. He will ensure that the aforementioned trio are properly looked after and protected from any unnecessary pressure.
Leeds will get their campaign underway on Sunday with a trip to Bristol City. It marks the first step on a road that Kinnear hopes will lead to the Premier League. The managing director is certainly optimistic, and stated that Bielsa “is confident and we share his confidence”.