Here are the latest Leeds United morning headlines on Monday, 9 May
Wright takes aim at Raphinha
Ian Wright has criticised the reaction of Leeds United winger Raphinha to Luke Ayling’s red card in the 2-1 defeat at Arsenal yesterday. After a VAR consultation, referee Chris Kavanagh sent the Leeds skipper off due to a two-footed challenge on Gabriel Martinelli.
Raphinha was not afraid to express his anger at the decision, as he was booked for his protests and had to be pulled away by Jack Harrison. Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Wright claimed the Brazilian could’ve seen red himself for his aggressive reaction.
He said: “I tell you what with Raphinha. When you look at the amount of bookings Leeds have had, for him to be going at the referee like he was, he could have easily have been sent off.”
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Marsch assesses Ayling replacements
Jesse Marsch has revealed Leeds United will spend the next few days evaluating how best to replace right-back Luke Ayling, who will be suspended for the remainder of the season after his sending off against Arsenal. Ayling was given a red card for his robust challenge on Gabriel Martinelli that saw Leeds go down to 10 men against the Gunners after they had already conceded an Eddie Nketiah brace.
The Leeds United full-back can have little complaint about his sending off and will now miss games against Chelsea, Brighton and Brentford as the Whites look to beat the drop. Marsch revealed that he and his staff will evaluate all their possible options ahead of their huge clash against Chelsea on Wednesday evening.
"We have Jamie Shackleton to play this position. We can play Raphinha, we can try a centre-back outside at the full-back position.
"We have some options, but we've got to figure out what's the best scenario to get us through the next three matches."
Phillips future
Sky Sports pundits Micah Richards and Jamie Redknapp believe Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips will be on his way out of Elland Road should the Whites get relegated this season. A revelation last summer for England on their run to the European Championship finals, Phillips has missed a significant amount of game time this season for Leeds due to a hamstring injury the 26-year-old picked up in December.
During that time, Leeds endured a torrid run of form that saw the club replace former head coach Marcelo Bielsa with Jesse Marsch in a bit to help the club beat the drop and stay in the Premier League. And Richards and Redknapp believe the midfield maestro could be well on his way to bigger and better things in the event that Leeds do go down.
"It was always going to happen," said Richards on the interest surrounding Phillips. "You think about the quality that they possess, the same with Bamford as well.
"It’s been tough because at times, Leeds have done really well, got key players injured at the wrong times and the quality, we seen him [Phillips] at the Euros and he was one of England's best players. So people are always going to come knocking, it’s not a bad thing.
"But if they were to go down, he’s not going to be playing Championship football next season, that’s no disrespect to Leeds. He’s a Premier League player and if they were to go people will come in for him."
