David Hockaday says Leeds won’t panic and rush to spend the transfer fee received for Ross McCormack, but nevertheless a steady stream of signings are on the way.
The head coach told the Yorkshire Post ” Leeds had some good players here last season and a number of them have gone including Ross. If we need to replace them we will replace them and we’ll do that as quickly as we can, but we won’t panic and we won’t do anything silly. If there’s a gap to fill we’ll fill it properly and professionally, but if needs patience we’ll show patience.”
This is undoubtedly the best approach, as we don’t want to end up like Spurs last season, who spent the Gareth Bale money on a several players who were never worth the money paid for them and who made little or no contribution to their season. We need to make sure that we strengthen every area of the squad, and that the players we sign are the best we can hold of.
Hockaday was asked when any further players but said "That would be inappropriate to say and I’ve got to sit down with the president. We are back training on Thursday so I will have a chat with him then and we’ll see where we go from there.” In other words, there is no point in asking him, because Cellino is in sole charge of transfers and will sign who he wants.
And we have signed three players already, though it seems they are all out of favour at clubs in the lower reaches of Italy’s lower division, so they are keen to try their luck elsewhere. They have all caught Massimo Cellino’s eye during his time at Cagliari, but we will have to hope that they will adapt to the faster pace of English football.
And hopefully their English will be good enough for them to communicate with their colleagues, which will be especially important for goalkeeper Marco Silvestri, who will have to organise his defence. But the keeper is highly thought of by local reporters, and the 23 year-old is only moving on because more experienced colleagues were blocking his progression at Chievo.
The youngest signing so far is Souleymane Doukara, who is fast and powerfully built and can play either up front or on the wing. He is reported to be hard working but worryingly inconsistent, though as we’ve only got him on a season-long loan from Calcio Catania, we can always send him if he doesn’t work out for us.
Completing the trio is Tommasso Bianchi’s, who became an Italian Under-21 international against Wales in 2009, but who has spent much of his time since playing for various clubs on loan in Serie B. Still, Hockaday believes the attacking midfielder could operate in several different roles for us "he could play on the left, on the right, in the number 10 role and he can score goals.”
Leeds were expected to complete a fourth foreign signing in the shape of defender Jonathan Rossini on loan from Sassuolo, but the deal collapsed, with Cellino saying that he only wants players with the right attitude. Rossini then put out his own statement saying how sorry he was it didn’t work out, but blaming unspecified personal reasons for the fact he won’t be coming to Leeds.
And If Celliino doesn’t want players with a bad attitude, then our reported interest in former Newcastle striker Nile Ranger is a bit surprising. The 23-year-old is currently a free agent after leaving Swindon Town at the end of last season, mainly due to disciplinary problems and off-field issues, yet Leeds have invited him to join the squad for training this week, to look at the possibility of offering him a contract.
And there are plenty more names in the frame, including AC Milan’s 19-year-old striker Andrea Petagna and Sampdoria’s Swiss right-back Gaetano Berard, though the chances are that Petangna at least will only be available for a loan deal rather than a permanent transfer. But there will inevitably be more transfer activity to come before the season kicks off, so watch this space.