The “Northern Notebook” is i‘s weekly look inside the biggest football clubs in the north of England, providing insight, analysis and news on the burning issues of the day
Newcastle have signalled a willingness to walk away from a deal for Hugo Ekitike after disputes with the player’s agent.
While the deal – which has been agreed with his club Reims – is not dead yet the Magpies are sourcing alternatives to fill the striker berth.
As reported by i last month, Nice’s Amine Gouiri has been scouted by Newcastle and fits the age profile and requirements.
Chelsea’s Armando Broja is another possible option, although West Ham’s interest in the Albania international may complicate matters.
Burnley to lose Weghorst and Cornet and target Cullen move
Burnley’s new manager Vincent Kompany will be introduced to the press on Friday as the club continue to plot a new direction following last season’s bruising relegation.
The Clarets confirmed the departure of Nick Pope to Newcastle in a £10million deal and are braced for further departures.
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Wout Weghorst and Maxwell Cornet both look set to depart with Bundesliga suitors for the Dutch striker, who says he has an agreement that he will be allowed to depart following the club dropping into the Championship.
One player to look out for is Anderlecht’s Republic of Ireland international Josh Cullen, who is well-liked at Turf Moor and played under Kompany in Belgium.
He has interest from the Premier League but a reunion with Kompany might appeal.
Bielsa defends Leeds record ahead of possible Athletic Bilbao return
Marcelo Bielsa re-emerged dramatically this week for the first time since his Leeds United departure, breaking his silence as he admitted he wants to return to coaching with former club Athletic Bilbao.
Bielsa has been characteristically low-key since he left Elland Road but has been watching hundreds of hours of Spanish football after being approached about the Bilbao role back in March.
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And in a presentation delivered to Bilbao members as part of their presidential elections – which run tomorrow – he also mounted a defence of his methods, which have come in for criticism for the way Leeds suffered injuries and suffered a sharp decline in their second season in the Premier League. Jesse Marsch even attracted criticism when he said some of the players were “over trained” in an interview on Talksport.
“(My) way of preparing a football team has generated a procedure that even when the team plays badly [it] maintains the highest rates (of running and intensity) in the best league in the world,” he said in his pitch.
i obtained a translation of the incredibly detailed presentation, which came in at 70 minutes and was typically meticulous, encapsulating everything from his methods to a breakdown of Bilbao’s Academy players and procedures.
His thoughts on how his methods have matured over his career – and what he did at Leeds – will be of interest in West Yorkshire, where he’s still a hugely popular figure for everything he achieved.
“I worked four years in my last club, Leeds. I was fired in February – they fired me because the team I led had a long row of poor results,” he said.
“But there are two things – one important and one very important. In our first season in the Premier League, we were the team that ran the most in the league and all of Europe’s big leagues, we were top of all the values that are measured.
“And in the second season in the Premier League even though we were bad in the table, we were still the team that ran the most in all categories except distance covered. But in the values linked to intensity of play, we were the team that ran the most.
“We had a very high availability of players and many debuts. In our first season in the Premier League, we had three players who debuted in the league. In the second season we had seven.
“I make this comment because the physical preparation of my teams makes setting goals not so difficult.”
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Phillips limps off against Germany to compound frustrating season for Leeds midfielder07 June, 2022Bielsa’s hopes of getting the Bilbao job rest on the presidential aspirations of Inaki Arechabaleta. Voting begins on Friday and his presidential rival Ricardo Barkala is pitching Ernesto Valverde.
He remains an outside bet but if he does land the post, he will make a quickfire return to England in pre-season. Athletic Bilbao play Newcastle on July 30 for a pre-season friendly.
Manchester City’s loan plan
Given the summer transfer window is open and hundreds of millions will be spent on new players, it’s understandable that most supporters are more concerned with who will be coming into their club than the players heading out of the door.
But Manchester City are one of an increasing number of Premier League clubs who have seen the value in being meticulous in their use of outgoing loans for their young players.
Chelsea were pioneers in this and the benefits include the progression of the likes of Mason Mount, who has emerged as an England international and one of the leading attacking midfielders in Europe.
But City are making an investment into their outgoing loans department to ensure their young players make the maximum impact. This summer will see the establishment of a head of injury management with a specific focus on ‘emerging talent’ and young players who are out on loan.
They’ll be required to track performance and physical data – along with ‘well-being markers’ like sleep and nutrition – from every player who is out on loan. The idea is not only to ensure they are making the progress the club wants but also to ensure their ‘long-term’ fitness is taken care of.
It is another example of the club’s vast infrastructure investment and – given the increasing importance of developing young players after Brexit rules hit the transfer market – it will be interesting to see whether other clubs follow suit.
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