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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking to The Yorkshire Evening Post, pundit David Prutton has hinted that Leeds could struggle to achieve promotion in the upcoming season.

What’s he said?

Leeds fell desperately short last term, being beaten to a second-place finish and automatic promotion by Sheffield United before then collapsing in the play-offs.

Against Derby, they fell apart as Frank Lampard’s men secured the victory over two legs and progressed to the final.

Given injuries to the likes of Kemar Roofe and Patrick Bamford throughout the campaign, it was some effort to get to where they were under Marcelo Bielsa.

However, Prutton has told YEP that it will again be a monumental endeavour, especially with the same set of players, hinting that they may well struggle unless things change. He said:

“I think it’s going to take another superhuman effort from a group of players that unless they are working off something vastly different in pre-season are going to have to try and repeat the same trick but with the opposition knowing what goes on behind the curtain.

“It will be a phenomenal achievement if they manage to do it with a very similar set of players.”

Further fuel to the fire

Prutton’s comments are rather indicative of the poor summer Leeds have had and arguably he is right to suggest that it will be some achievement if they find themselves in a similar position.

The fact is that Leeds’ squad hasn’t really improved since last term.

One of their defensive mainstays in Pontus Jansson has left whilst it remains to be seen how Ben White copes with stepping up a level.

Liam Cooper, of course, was named in the PFA Team of the Year but at times has looked suspect alongside Gaetano Berardi in pre-season.

In attack, they’ve done little to strengthen either with Jack Harrison returning and Helder Costa walking through the doors but they’ll go into the campaign with Bamford and Roofe as their only viable options up top, and the latter has already been ruled out for four weeks.

But what is most concerning, however, is that the core of this squad is still very much the same one that finished 13th only two years ago.

It would be harsh to say that last year was a fluke, but Bielsa and Andrea Radrizzani could and maybe should have done more in this window.

If they’d made improvements to their personnel more, the size of the task on their hands may have been smaller.

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