Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch admits his side are in the market for a new striker before the window closes – but refuses to acknowledge whether the shoulder injury suffered by Rodrigo will force them to act.
The Whites have spent heavily this summer, bringing in eight new players so far. Five of them – Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca, Tyler Adams, Luis Sinisterra and Brenden Aaronson – started on Tuesday night as Leeds drew with Everton. That result, with the Whites forced to come from behind, preserved Leeds’ solid start to the season.
They stand fifth in the table, with just one defeat from five games. However, the manner of Everton’s tactical approach did not sit well with Leeds boss Marsch, who hit out at Lampard and his tactics.
Despite the draw, Leeds may feel the result was two points dropped, though in fairness, both sides had chances to win.
The Whites went into the game still hoping to add to their squad in the form of a new striker. However, chief executive Angus Kinnear’s programme notes suggested a deal would not happen and that Leeds are satisfied with their options up front. Citing the club having ‘two international No 9s’ and ‘a young striker regarded as one of the most exciting prospects in the country’, his words went up in smoke in 32 minutes when Rodrigo was forced from the field.
The Spain striker came off second best in something of an innocuous challenge with Jordan Pickford, suffering a suspected dislocated shoulder.
That forced him from the field, with his shirt being utilised as a makeshift sling.
As a result, Leeds are now left with just Joe Gelhardt and the injury-prone Patrick Bamford to call upon.
Marsch wants Hwang Hee-chan with Rodrigo shoulder blow confirmed
Discussing Rodrigo’s shoulder injusy, Marsch confirmed the dislocation but was unaware how long he faces on the sidelines.
“It’s a dislocated shoulder,” he said. “It was popped it back in. He seems to be feeling okay. He’ll have a scan to see how serious it is.”
In the worst-case scenario, Leeds will be without their top scorer until early November, with Marsch adding: “Sometimes it can be a week, sometimes it can be two months depending on the damage. He feels better, which is a good sign but we need a scan.”
When asked if the injury affected Leeds’ plans for the window, Marsch added: “Not so much, but that’s obviously been a goal of ours since the start of the summer.
“We’ve been active and we’re trying everything we can and we’ll see how it plays out here over the next 24 hours or so.”
Leeds are being strongly linked with Hwang Hee-chan, with the Wolves striker well known to Marsch and eager to play for him again.
Now Marsch has named Hwang as a player he would like to sign, adding:
“I know Hee-chan very well,” Marsch said. “I like Hee-chan, he knows our football. He’s on our list, I can tell you that.
“Everybody is trying the best that they can and I can only say thank you to (chairman) Andrea (Radrizzani), (director of football) Victor (Orta) and (chief executive) Angus (Kinnear), and everybody.
“We’re trying to find ways to continue to improve our squad, but we have also done a great job and you can see we have a good team.”
Leeds striker signing now classed as urgent
Truth be told, Kinnear made a bit of a fool of himself in the Leeds programme notes. And never have programme notes looked so silly so quickly in the wake of Rodrigo’s injury.
Granted, no one could have predicted that injury and, in that sense, Leeds can count themselves unlucky. But that is football and these kind of things can happen. And Leeds’ need for a new striker has been obvious to everyone for several months.
Indeed, their lack of cover for Bamford last season almost cost them their place in the Premier League.
To go through another transfer window without an obvious fix in place would be catastrophic for Leeds this time. Granted, Rodrigo has started the season in fine form, with four goals in five appearances.
But Bamford is only feeling his way back. And the England cap looked pretty rusty when coming off the bench against Everton. Gelhardt is clearly a massive talent and one who looks to have a big career ahead of him.
But he’s not a potent goal poacher and looks happier as a deeper No 10.
With only the latter two fit for Saturday’s game at Brentford, Leeds urgently now need another option in place. Should Bamford break down again, then the club will be forced to rely on their Under-23s once again.
As such, dipping into the market is now a necessity, rather than a nice option for Leeds.
