Leeds looking to add some Spanish flair

Leeds are back where they belong. One of England’s biggest clubs finally returned to the Premier League with their Argentinean charismatic leader Marcelo Bielsa pulling all the strings and making many of their players overperform. They are certain of staying up and they can afford to plan further ahead. And one of the moves they could make in the transfer market is a swoop for Real Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez.

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The Whites are still in the hunt for European football, so the Leeds boss will no doubt be fully focused on that, but the club’s hierarchy should already be drawing up plans on how to potentially reinforce this squad. According to Deportes Cuatro, the Yorkshire club are one of a number of sides interested in signing Vazquez on a free transfer.

The 9-cap Spain international has established himself as a cornerstone of Madrid’s first-team squad this season, playing 25 games in all competitions, including playing the full 90 minutes in five out of the six Champions League group stage games Los Blancos were involved in.

With two goals and five assists, Vazquez is more of a creative wide-man than someone who’s going to bag ten goals a season – from the 2015/2016 campaign to the 2018/2019 one, the Spaniard broke double figures for assists in each year, including an impressive 16 assists during Madrid’s Champions League-winning year in 2017.

Planning for the future: Marcelo Bielsa (©Reuters)

The hard-working wide midfielder is the kind of player who never stops running and is comfortable roaming up and down the pitch and helping both his team’s defenders as well as attackers. This is a trait Marcelo Bielsa is fond of as he looks to add to his team of fighters at Elland Road.

And when you look at his defensive numbers from this season, it’s clear to see why he’d be perfect for Bielsa. He averages a hugely impressive 2.4 tackles per game in La Liga, which would actually rank him fourth in the entire Leeds squad – only Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips and Luke Ayling have averaged more than him.

Vazquez sticks to his defensive task diligently, and given Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane’s comments on how he gives everything for the cause, seems tailor made to be another stand-out Bielsa player at Elland Road. Even though Zidane has been praising Vasquez for his attitude and contribution, the 29-year-old midfielder isn’t going to be offered a new contract. After being on Real Madrid’s books since the age of 16, Lucas wouldn’t accept an offer to be a bit-part player anymore nor would he agree to be paid less than some of the squad’s new arrivals.

From the club’s perspective, Vazquez will turn 30 in a few months and will likely return to more of a substitution role should the club pursue a true starter on the right side such as the much-rumoured Kylian Mbappe. For the club, it likely doesn’t make sense to spend too much on renewal if they have bigger transfer plans at the same position in mind this summer. This is why many clubs will target Vazquez when the season finishes. A Spain international on a free transfer will be tempting to quite a few clubs with money to spend. Besides Leeds, Everton and Napoli are believed to be interested.

Will Lucas Vazquez swap the white of Real Madrid for the white of Yorkshire? There’s a strong possibility.