Leeds United must keep their key players fit if they are to mount a serious challenge in the Championship this season, but a major signing in January is “guaranteed,” according to former Scotland international Frank McAvennie.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, McAvennie emphasised that while Leeds have a strong starting eleven, their squad depth remains a concern, with the club lacking the quality to compete for the title over a long, gruelling season.
Leeds saw their squad raided following their 1-0 play-off final defeat to Southampton, with top talents such as Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville, and Georginio Rutter all securing big-money moves to the Premier League.
In a last-minute flurry, manager Daniel Farke brought in four new faces during the final week of the transfer window, but with just 23 players, Leeds now have the smallest squad in the Championship.
Farke’s side, however, have started the season strongly, remaining unbeaten in their first four games with two wins and two draws. New signing Manor Solomon wowed the Elland Road crowd with a superb debut, helping Leeds to a 2-0 win over Hull City in a Yorkshire derby.
McAvennie, though, remains concerned about their squad depth:
“They’ve got a good 11, 12, 13 players,” he told Football Insider. “When you go outside that, if people get injured, at the moment, everyone is happy, everyone is playing, and they all want to get back to the Premier League. That’s great if they can keep these players fit, if you can stop them from getting injured.”
He added:
“The manager is a clever guy, he’ll have everyone working and the boys that come in will just have to do a job until January. I guarantee they’ll buy someone in January.”
McAvennie, who admits to having a soft spot for Leeds, believes the club are doing well but must tread cautiously:
“They’re doing alright at the moment, they’ll be taking it cautiously, one game at a time, the usual football nonsense.”