Contracts are a distraction for Jesse Marsch, who does not want his Leeds United decisions influenced by a player’s future. With the club between transfer windows, the futures of the players already on the books naturally become a talking point as the Whites get their house in order.
While Luke Ayling and Adam Forshaw could see their contracts expire at the end of this season, an array of talent like Liam Cooper, Mateusz Klich, Rodrigo, Stuart Dallas, Diego Llorente, Robin Koch, Pascal Struijk and Jack Harrison have deals ending in a little over 18 months from now.
The age, experience and standing of Koch, Struijk and Harrison in particular mean their transfer value has to be protected with long-term deals. Should Leeds allow them to approach the final 12 months of their agreements, they will be inundated with transfer interest.
However, Marsch has admitted he chooses to keep that side of club business at a distance, relying on director of football Victor Orta and chairman Andrea Radrizzani to handle agents. The head coach is concerned if he knew when deals were expiring it would influence his decision-making process.
“I'm not always in tune with those things,” he said. “That's more for Victor and Andrea to sort out with agents. I actually prefer not to know contract situations with players because I like to just treat them for face value, for what they bring every day.
“Sometimes when I hear contract details, just like now, I don't always like it because, I know this is still a big part of our jobs and our business and the contracts mean a lot to people, I try to stay focused just on the relationships, personal relationships.”
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