Marcelo Bielsa was Leeds United manager for four seasons and in those seasons, fans saw the highest of highs and some pretty low lows. Promotion to the Premier League for the first time since 2004, and facing relegation back to the Championship just two years later, Bielsa and the Whites parted ways.
The Argentinian was so beloved by fans that they kept singing his name after poor performances once American Jesse Marsch took over. Despite Marsch achieving survival where many felt Bielsa wouldn't have, some still look back during the four seasons of Bielsa's reign and wish him back.
One thing Bielsa will be remembered for was his dealings in the transfer market - 24 transfers in four seasons so we're going through all of them to take a look at how they performed for the Whites and what they're doing now.
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1. Lewis Baker (Loan from Chelsea) - 30/06/2018
Bielsa's first signing as Leeds manager came in the form of Lewis Baker. The loanee from Chelsea only spent one season with the Whites, making 14 appearances across all competitions making just one assist in a 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup first round.
Since then, he's spent seasons with Bundesliga club Fortuna Dusseldorf, current Turkish Super Lig champions Trabzonspor and is currently at Stoke City where he regularly starts under new manager Alex Neil.
2. Leif Davis (Signed from Morecambe U-18s) - 03/07/2018
Leif Davis was only 17 when he was bought by Bielsa and was immediately sent into the club's youth academy. He made his first team debut in December 2018 against Aston Villa where he started in a 3-2 win.
He'd be with the club until their promotion to the Premier League where he'd make his top-flight in October 2020 against Manchester City. Making 14 first team appearances for the club, he was sent on loan to AFC Bournemouth in the 2021/22 season before being sold to Ipswich Town in the summer for an undisclosed seven-figure fee.
3. Jamal Blackman (Loan from Chelsea) - 15/07/2018
In an incredibly unremarkable loan move, Jamal Blackman joined Leeds in the summer of 2018 from Chelsea and only played twice in the EFL Cup before they were knocked out by Preston North End in a 2-0 second round loss.
Since then, Blackman was on loan at Bristol Rovers and Rotherham United before being sold to L.A Galaxy in the MLS. He then returned to England after one season to play for Huddersfield Town where he played three games before being released and signing for newly-promoted League One club Exeter City.
4. Barry Douglas (Signed from Wolves - £3m) - 27/07/2018
Barry Douglas' time at Leeds was injury-plagued but he still put up good performances when he was fully fit. Having signed from Wolves after a 14-assist season, he only found five in his entire three years with the Whites but helped the club gain promotion and win the Championship title in the 2019/20 season.
In Leeds' first season back in the top-flight, he was loaned to Blackburn Rovers before being released at the end of his contract. He moved back to Poland to play for Lech Poznan where he had won the Polish Ekstraklasa in 2014/15 before winning it again in 2021/22.
5. Jack Harrison (Loan from Manchester City) - 29/07/2018
Once the #1 draft pick in the MLS SuperDraft, Jack Harrison has enjoyed a great career so far with the Whites. After spending three seasons on loan from Manchester City, Harrison signed for Leeds permanently in 2021 and has 172 appearances so far for the club, scoring 29 goals and managing 25 assists.
Harrison famously scored the stoppage-time winner against Brentford to guarantee Leeds' survival last season, and has started this year with a goal and three assists from his first six starts.
6. Patrick Bamford (Signed from Middlesbrough - £7m) - 30/07/2018
After five years at Chelsea without a first-team appearance, Bamford was sold to Middlesbrough where he spent one season before signing for Leeds. Since signing for the Whites, he's been the main target man for them - 45 goals and 17 assists in 124 appearances across four seasons is an impressive record.
Despite being injured for most of last season, Bamford still managed two goals and two assists in nine games and will look to return to his 2020/21 form this season.
7. Izzy Brown (Loan from Chelsea) - 29/08/2018
Somehow Izzy Brown had an even more unremarkable loan spell in 2018 than fellow Chelsea teammate Jamal Blackman. Because of injuries, he only played two first-team appearances for the Whites. Over those two games, he played 11 minutes and managed to pick up a yellow card.
Since then, he's been on loan at Luton Town and Sheffield Wednesday before signing for Preston North End last season. Suffering another injury, this time a ruptured Achilles, he didn't play a single game before being released with one week left in the season. He is currently without a club.
8. Kiko Casilla (Signed from Real Madrid - Free) - 16/01/2019
Signing from Spanish giants Real Madrid, Kiko Casilla was Leeds' starting goalkeeper for a majority of his time at Elland Road but his time there was marred by a racial abuse allegation from then-Charlton forward Jonathan Leko. He was charged by the FA and banned for eight games.
When Bielsa bought in Illan Meslier, Casilla became the second-choice goalkeeper and was sent on loan to La Liga club Elche CF. In the summer, Casilla's contract was terminated by Leeds with mutual consent and he now plays for Getafe CF in La Liga.
9. Mateusz Bogusz (Signed from Ruch Chorzow - £90th) - 28/01/2019
A Polish U-21 international, Mateusz Bogusz has only played three first-team appearances for the Whites but is still on the club's books. He signed a new three-year deal in August 2020 and was sent on loan to UD Logrones for the 2020/21 season.
Since that loan spell finished, he's been out on loan with UD Ibiza after their promotion to La Liga where he scored four and created seven goals in the 2021/22 season.
10. Ben White (Loan from Brighton) - 30/06/2019
Before he signed for Arsenal and played for England, Ben White played an entire season under Bielsa at Leeds. In September of that 2019/20 season, he won the PFA Championship Player of the Month and would eventually win the Championship Best Young Player in December.
Playing in all 49 games that season, White won the Leeds Young Player of the season award and scored in his last game for the club in a 4-0 win over Charlton Athletic. That summer, Leeds sent in three bids for White but all three were rejected. He would eventually sign for the Gunners for £50 million.
11. Liam McCarron (Signed from Carlisle United - £261th) - 30/06/2019
Liam McCarron signed from Carlisle United and was put straight into the youth academy where he spent his entire Leeds career. He did make one first-team appearance - coming on as an 81st minute substitute in a 4-1 loss to Arsenal in the Premier League.
McCarron was sold to Stoke City this summer and on September 1 became the first player since 1978 to be sent on loan to Stoke's fierce rivals Port Vale.
12. Jack Clarke (Loan from Tottenham Hotspur) - 02/07/2019
Having grown up in Leeds' youth system, Clarke played 25 games in the 2018/19 season before being sold to Tottenham Hotspur and loaned straight back to the club.
However, he'd only play three games before being injured. Since leaving the Whites, he's made appearances in the Europa League and Europa Conference League for Spurs and now plays for Sunderland in the Championship.
13. Helder Costa (Loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers) - 02/07/2019
Helder Costa's first stint with Leeds came in the form of a season-long loan move from Wolves. In 46 games, he scored five goals and created eight while wearing the number 17 shirt that had been brought out of retirement.
He'd go on to work out a permanent deal with the Whites which we'll go over later.
14. Illan Meslier (Loan from FC Lorient) - 07/08/2019
Much like Helder Costa, Illan Meslier's first season with Leeds was a season-long loan move, this time from FC Lorient. The youngster thoroughly impressed, keeping seven clean sheets in his 10 league appearances, finishing the season as the first-choice goalkeeper and signed a permanent deal that summer.
15. Eddie Nketiah (Loan from Arsenal) - 07/08/2019
Now a part of Mikel Arteta's Arsenal setup, Eddie Nketiah was sent on loan to Leeds for the 2019/20 season. He made 19 appearances, scoring five goals with 1 assist, and started his final game for the Whites on New Year's Day that season.
Since then, Nketiah has made 99 first-team appearances for the Gunners scoring 24 goals and looks to be in Arteta's plans for the future.
16. Ian Poveda (Signed from Manchester City - Free) - 23/01/2020
Signed from Manchester City's U-23s, Poveda impressed in his game for Leeds' own youth team and was moved up to the first team midway through the 2020/21 season. He'd feature sixteen times for the first team that year but was unable to find a goal.
He was sent on loan to Blackburn Rovers where he found three goal involvements in 10 games and is now on loan at Blackpool in the Championship.
17. Jean-Kevin Augustin (Loan from RB Leipzig) - 26/01/2020
Sent on loan from Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, Jean-Kevin Augustin's time at Leeds was marred by a legal contract debate between the two clubs. He only made three appearances for the Whites, scoring no goals.
Eventually, the contract debacle was nullified when both club gave written permission to give over his registration to French Ligue 1 club Nantes FC who signed him in 2021. He now plays for FC Basel in Switzerland.
18. Helder Costa (Signed from Wolves - £15m) - 30/06/2020
After signing his permanent deal, he made his Premier League debut in the first match of the season, finding an assist in a 4-3 defeat to Liverpool but would score a brace the next week to beat Fulham in a 4-3 win.
Since that season, he was sent on loan to Valencia in Spain for the 2021/22 season before being sent to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad on loan for the 2022/23 season.
19. Illan Meslier (Signed from FC Lorient - £6m) - 26/07/2020
Since replacing Casilla halfway through the 2019/20 season, Meslier has been the first-choice goalkeeper for the Whites following their promotion to the Premier League.
In 79 top-flight games, he's managed 17 clean sheets while conceding 140 goals and became the first goalkeeper under the age of 21 to keep 11 clean sheets over one season in 2021.
20. Joe Gelhardt (Signed from Wigan Athletic - £900th) - 09/08/2020
Signing a four-year deal form Wigan in 2020, Gelhardt impressed in the Premier League 2 for the U-21s scoring 18 goals in 28 games before being moved up into the first-team.
Last season, he scored twice in the Premier League along with five assists in 20 games, whilst also scoring seven goals with one assist for the U-21s.
21. Rodrigo Moreno (Signed from Valencia - £27m) - 28/08/2020
A club record fee was paid for Rodrigo's services and he hasn't disappointed. 21 goal involvements in 68 games for the Spanish international over the last two seasons are good numbers and his start to this season has been even better.
Despite a dislocated shoulder, he's managed four goals and an assist in his first five games and will look to continue the best start to a season he's had in his career.
22. Robin Koch (Signed from SC Freiburg - £13m) - 28/08/2020
Across 87 games for SC Freiburg, Robin Koch scored five goals but hasn't scored once in 45 games for his current club Leeds. The centre-back did suffer a knee injury midway through his debut Premier League season which saw him miss three months after surgery.
23. Diego Llorente (Signed from Real Sociedad - £18m) - 23/09/2020
Bielsa's penultimate signing, Diego Llorente is something of a goalscoring centre-back. Eight goals from the position for his former club Real Sociedad, and he scored three goals last season for the Whites.
Although he's had a rough start to this season, the Spanish international has the ability, has proven it in the league and will look to help Jesse Marsch's men continue their good start to this year's campaign.
24. Raphinha (Signed from Stade Rennais - £17m) - 04/10/2020
Bielsa's final transfer was Brazilian winger Raphinha - an absolutely instrumental part of their survival last season. 17 goals and 12 assists in 67 games for the Whites over two seasons are good numbers and he'd top the goalscoring charts for the club last season with 11 goals.
He was, of course, sold to FC Barcelona during the summer transfer window for a reported fee of £50 million meaning Leeds certainly got their money's worth when signing the now-25-year-old.
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