Busy summer for Leeds United utility man as regime change opens transfer floodgates

Leeds United's summer rebuild is already taking shape with the addition of USMNT international Brenden Aaronson having already signed on the dotted line.

The 21-year-old sealed a £25 million transfer this week - a move which was contingent on Leeds' Premier League survival.

As the Whites will be playing top flight football for the third consecutive season next year, squad-building decisions will need to be made by head coach Jesse Marsch and director of football Victor Orta.

Last season's brush with relegation proved too close for comfort and can in part be attributed to United's thin squad.

When injuries ravaged Leeds' group, there were few alternatives boasting any real Premier League experience to fill in and subsequently the Whites found themselves in a bind which ultimately cost Marcelo Bielsa his job.

Under the Argentine, players who departed on loan typically did not make triumphant returns to the first-team squad - they were, in essence, soft exits.

With Marsch now at the helm, the jury remains out on the American's stance towards outgoing loans.

After Marsch's appointment in late February, loans manager Andrew Taylor was requisitioned to the U23 setup, temporarily taking over from lead development coach Mark Jackson who formed part of Marsch's backroom team.

With the American expected to appoint his own staff members in the off-season, it is anticipated Jackson and Taylor will return to their previous roles.

Taylor in particular could see an increase in loans traffic this summer with a new regime and a potentially fresh outlook towards sending players on loan.

Marsch's former employers FC Red Bull Salzburg have for several seasons commandeered satellite team FC Liefering in Austria's second tier as a destination for the club's younger players to head on loan.

Marsch is understood to value the merits of senior football for young players and the likelihood of multiple Leeds youngsters hanging around the first-team squad with little prospect of senior football seems slim moving forward.

The likes of Charlie Cresswell, Crysencio Summerville and Jamie Shackleton could be prime candidates to be farmed out on loan in order to gain first-team experience.

Where Bielsa preferred to keep his group together at Thorp Arch, Marsch may see things differently and task Taylor with seeking suitable loan clubs for United's exciting young players.

In addition, there will be decisions made on those players returning to Thorp Arch from their loan spells this season.

Helder Costa, Ian Poveda, Leif Davis, Alfie McCalmont and Kiko Casilla are among those who spent 2021/22 away from Elland Road but remain contracted to Leeds.

It is unclear the roles they will play - if any - at Leeds in the near future.