Leeds: Bielsa sold a star for £7m, now he’s worth is Unimaginable…….
Given the wonderful work he accomplished while managing Leeds United, Elland Road supporters ought to have good memories of the late manager.
The current manager of Uruguay’s national team and former head coach of Marseille had a fantastic tenure with Yorkshire, joining them in the Championship and leaving them contending as a Premier League team.
Within his first two seasons in charge, the 68-year-old manager and former sporting director Victor Orta collaborated to earn promotion to the top league, which was followed by a ninth-place result in the top division.
While some may look back on Bielsa’s additions and how successful they were, with the most costly signing noted below, the seasoned tactician also made wise selections about who to cash in on.
Leeds’ most costly acquisitions under Bielsa
The summer 2019 transfer of center-forward Kemar Roofe to the Belgian team Anderlecht was one sale in which the Argentine manager struck gold.
The team needed to generate revenue through sales that year, according to former Whites owner Andrea Radrizzani, in order to prevent the league deducting points from them for their financial predicament.
This indicates that Bielsa’s choice to cash in on the Jamaica international was a wise one. His hand was partly pressed with Roofe, but Elland Road had other resources.
How many goals did Leeds’ Kemar Roofe score?
The dynamic striker scored 33 goals in 122 appearances across all competitions during his three full seasons with the Yorkshire-based team.
He left Oxford United after a standout 2015–16 League Two season in which the gifted ace recorded an impressive 25 goals and 12 assists in 49 matches, including 17 goals and ten assists in 40 league appearances. He then joined Leeds.
However, the English-born star struggled for form at the top end of the pitch during his debut season with Leeds. Roofe scored four goals and provided seven assists in 49 games throughout the 2016/17 term.
The next season, the former West Brom academy standout was able to establish his footing with a record of 14 goals and five assists in 39 matches, including 11 goals in 36 Championship appearances.
The 2018–19 season, which was Bielsa’s first at Elland Road and resulted in a play-off semifinal loss to Derby County, was his last with Leeds. In all, he participated in 34 games with 15 goals and 2 assists, including 15 league goals in 33 games.
With 15 league goals, Roofe led Leeds in the Championship, six more than Patrick Bamford, who managed nine after moving from Middlesbrough during the 2018 summer transfer window.
Leeds cashed in on the reliable number nine for a significant fee of £7m as Vincent Kompany’s Anderlecht secured his services.
He only had one year left to run on his contract at Elland Road and was offered an attractive wage hike by the Pro League side, while the Whites were well compensated for a Championship club selling a player who would have been a free agent the following summer.
His departure left a hole to fill at the top end of the pitch for Bielsa but it also presented Bamford with the opportunity to stake a claim for his place in the side, which is exactly what he did.
The former Chelsea prodigy went on to score 16 goals in 45 Championship appearances, which was seven more than any of his teammates, as Leeds won the title and earned promotion to the Premier League.
Roofe is currently playing for Scottish giants Rangers at the age of 30, having joined the Light Blues from Anderlecht in the summer of 2020.
The striker scored seven goals in 16 appearances in all competitions for the Belgian outfit before his switch to Scotland after just one season with Kompany.
He has been a fairly prolific scorer for the Gers throughout his three-and-a-bit years in Glasgow to date, with 37 goals in 86 matches to date.