Nike Strike Aerowsculpt Official Premier League match ball (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)Nike Strike Aerowsculpt Official Premier League match ball (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Nike Strike Aerowsculpt Official Premier League match ball (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Leeds United transfer rumours: Whites emerge as favourites to land £17m talent, Bielsa wants Real Madrid star in January

Leeds United’s last opponents Brighton were booed off after moving eighth on Saturday, temporarily above Manchester United.

Marcelo Bielsa doesn’t know enough about the Seagulls to comment on the reception from sections of the Amex Stadium stands that left Brighton boss Graham Potter perplexed.

Bielsa does, though, know all about Leeds United’s fans following nearly three-and-a-half years as Whites head coach.

Those supporters will return to Elland Road tonight with their side eight places and six points below booed-off Brighton, Bielsa’s team fourth-bottom and hovering dangerously close to the relegation trapdoor.

But Bielsa knows victory against Crystal Palace this evening could start a Whites’ recovery and says his side can count on their supporters through thick and thin.

United’s fans have had a lot less to cheer about over the first 13 games of their club’s second season back in the Premier League.

At the corresponding stage of last season, Bielsa’s side were 13th on the back of a 5-2 triumph against Newcastle United at Elland Road, a fifth win of the season as part of 18 victories over the course of the campaign en route to a superb ninth-place finish.

Leeds, though, have had just two wins to savour after 13 games of the current campaign, leaving the Whites only three points clear of the drop zone and with third-bottom Burnley holding a game in hand.

But back-to-back home comforts now await via this week’s Elland Road contests against Palace and Brentford, ahead of which Bielsa has hailed the unwavering support of United’s loyal fans which proved key in inspiring a comeback in last month’s 1-1 draw at home to Wolves.

“I think the natural feeling of the fan is to want to get what is in play,” said Bielsa, asked if there was a need for perspective in an ultra-competitive Premier League.

“So when a team doesn’t get what the fans think that their team is capable of they manifest their dissatisfaction but I can’t talk about the reality of Brighton because I don’t know it and it doesn’t correspond for me to analyse it.

“I am just making a projection to the fan in general and that doesn’t coincide with the attitude that the Leeds fans have towards us because in adversity is when they show most their support and that’s when they have the most comprehension.”

Those supporters will return to Elland Road tonight with their side eight places and six points below booed-off Brighton, Bielsa’s team fourth-bottom and hovering dangerously close to the relegation trapdoor.