Marcelo Bielsa has Premier League balancing act as Leeds United new boys pose positive problems - Daniel Chapman

The flies on the wall at Thorp Arch must have laughed through some high comedy over the last two seasons, buzzing quietly in hiding from the fastidious Marcelo Bielsa.

Bielsa and Victor Orta are said to enjoy a healthy working relationship characterised, as the best often are, by blazing rows.

Picture Victor presenting his meticulous research, flipping through profiles of the best available players in the world as if they were police mugshots.

And imagine his temper rising as Marcelo, like an amnesiac witness forgetting the face that committed the crime, shrugs each one away with a no.

Victor offers a defender. “Bueno,” says Marcelo, “but Stuart Dallas can play there.”

All right, maybe this midfielder? “Maybe, or we play Dallas.” A new striker? “No, bueno, Stuey...”

The goalkeeper file goes out the window, question unasked. “As a youth, Stuey was a builders’ labourer,” says Marcelo. “Very strong hands.”

Bielsa, of course, was right when he said that a smaller squad would promote its own happiness by keeping players involved, and a happier bunch never celebrated promotion together.

He also said the Academy would keep him supplied with reserves, and Pascal Struijk proved that point at Anfield.

But promotion has brought a change, even if Bielsa is trying to hide it behind plausible deniability. Robin Koch has been joined by Diego Llorente, Bielsa insisting this is not an increase in defensive numbers, just replacements for Ben White and Gaetano Berardi, two for two.

Rodrigo is here to bloom in the shade of Pat Bamford, where Eddie Nketiah and Jean-Kevin Augustin withered before him.

The speculation is too loud to believe Leeds are stopping there.

If not Rodrigo De Paul from Udinese, Orta seems determined a midfielder of renown will join from a top European club, whether it’s Michael Cuisance from Bayern Munich, Ruslan Malinovskyi from Atalanta, or Todd Cantwell, stretching the definition, from Norwich.

Add the opportunist salvation being offered to Daniel James, Ryan Kent’s status as the name that won’t go away, and Orta’s love of surprises, then two years of worrying that Leeds didn’t have enough players for a 46-game Championship season is giving way to a new concern: with 35 games to play and a coach averse to rotating, will we soon have too many?

Teams do change, especially after promotion, but they don’t always need new personnel for it to happen. Bamford is currently following Lee Chapman’s trajectory at Leeds. Signed in January 1990, Chapman was booed out of his first games.

But he scored the vital goals to win promotion and then, in the First Division, thrived. Muttering about spending big money to replace the big donkey never went away, but Chapman scored 31 goals.

He was helped by the momentum around him. Only two outfield players joined after promotion, and rather than cause problems after losing his place, Vinnie Jones left for first-team football.

Howard Wilkinson’s squad were exquisitely professional, and stayed in character all the way to the title. That’s when trouble started.

Eric Cantona was a novelty on loan but a tiresome liability when strutting through pre-season training. David Rocastle was bought for a record fee but an operation miraculously cured Gordon Strachan’s back, so Rocky joined Steve Hodge, frustrated in a reserve midfield that would have graced the England team.

With right-back Mel Sterland injured, Wilko tried everything from playing David Batty there to a three-player defence including Gary Speed, trying everybody’s patience in the process.

Patience will be important this season, when results stop going so well and new players start making their presence felt, whichever comes first.

Liam Cooper, the captain, has been untouchable for two seasons, but neither Llorente or Koch came to watch him play.

Cuisance might be taking Adam Forshaw’s place in the squad, but he’ll want either Mateusz Klich or Stuart Dallas’ place from Sunday’s team, and neither played at Bramall Lane like they’re ready to let him.

Bamford has made his feelings about Rodrigo perfectly clear: he’ll score 38 in 38 if he has to.

Competition for places is regarded as healthy but a squad has to be able to cope with the tension that naturally arises. Leeds players always say the murderball training games are more intense than any league match, but Don Revie’s players might scoff, remembering 15 top internationals all fighting for a place in the 1970s.

Bielsa’s Leeds aren’t at that level, but getting there, and at least Revie would let Billy take a fag break if Norman was winding him up.

The first new challenge in the Premier League is to win new contests at Thorp Arch. Cooper and Klich won’t be relaxing over carpet bowls with Bielsa, but it’ll be up to them to enlarge United’s spirited togetherness to encompass an enlarging squad.