Leeds United are currently only targeting one arrival this month, according to reliable journalist Beren Cross...
What's the word?
He delivered the worrying update during a recent online Q&A with supporters on LeedsLive, where he revealed:
“From what I have been told, [Brenden] Aaronson is the only player they're currently in for at the moment."
It's believed that the Premier League side have seen a £15m bid knocked back for the RB Salzburg midfielder but they remain keen on signing him before deadline day on January 31st, as per The Athletic.
Earlier this week, other reports suggested that the Yorkshire outfit had submitted a second offer for a different unnamed player but Cross' fresh claim pours cold water on that completely.
Not good enough!
This is a worrying sign and one that will surely leave manager Marcelo Bielsa absolutely gutted, if not fuming.
He has seen his squad decimated with injuries regularly throughout the 2021/22 campaign and it has been so bad that he has struggled to name much of a bench at all.
For instance, during Sunday's impressive win at West Ham, the Argentinian had only one senior professional amongst nine substitutes and just last month during their defeat to Arsenal, there were as many as 11 players missing through injury. 15-year-old academy gem Archie Gray even made the bench on both occasions.
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Just one central midfielder will not cut it.
Yes, it is perhaps their main priority with Kalvin Phillips out injured until March at the earliest but Bielsa is surely crying out for some competition for Patrick Bamford, who has missed 16 of their last 17 league outings with ankle and hamstring problems.
The England international has no competition up top, meaning when he's out, Leeds do not have a striker to lead their line. The likes of Dan James and Jack Harrison have often been deployed there - out of position - as a result.
Similarly, there is a lack of cover at full-back, where midfielders Stuart Dallas and Jamie Shackleton have often been called upon. Captain Liam Cooper is even expected to be absent until March, too.
The Yorkshiremen need two to three additions this month if they are to remain competitive and help alleviate the ongoing injury crisis at Thorp Arch.
Whilst Aaronson would be an exciting signing, it's just not enough and that has got to leave Bielsa and co absolutely worried heading into the second half of the season following this huge update from a very reliable source.
AND in other news, Imagine him and Phillips: Leeds could seal dream Bielsa signing in £16.2m-rated "phenom"...