This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
With the international break now upon us, the football at Leeds has taken a back seat and instead, rumours of potential incomings are doing the rounds.
James Milner has been linked with a potential return to the club he grew up with while Steven Gerrard has even been touted as Marcelo Bielsa’s future successor.
The Argentine penned a new deal as recently as May but the former Liverpool man was supposedly someone the Whites saw as his replacement if he did actually depart.
Despite Bielsa extending his stay, the 39-year-old is still someone the likes of Andrea Radrizzani and Victor Orta are monitoring according to reports.
Gerrard has been doing some exceptional work with Rangers and has guided them to top spot in the Scottish Premiership.
Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below
A young up and coming manager, it’s not hard to see why a club such as Leeds would be interested.
Determining if he moves depends on a variety of factors, not least whether Bielsa is still in the hot seat.
If the 64-year-old steers them to promotion it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if he stayed. If they don’t, he might well out of the door – such is his reputation having managed Marseille and Argentina.
But one thing that might help Leeds in any potential pursuit for Milner is bringing in Gerrard.
Football Insider laid down claims that he could be open to a return in the future and given both players’ ties with Liverpool, a move could be easier.
But that isn’t the underlying factor at play here. The pair know each other from England duty and have a great understanding of each other too.
In 2015 Milner, who has played 523 times in the Premier League, was tasked with replacing Gerrard in Liverpool’s midfield. However, he didn’t see this possible as he sang the latter’s praises. He told ABC:
“I don’t think there’s someone on the planet who could replace Gerrard for what he did for Liverpool football club over the years, so as a team we need to replace his output.
“Even Messi would struggle to replace Stevie for what he’s done for Liverpool over the years.”
Why are Leeds fans the best in the country? Find out in the video below…
The ex-England captain also spoke highly of Milner too, telling BBC Radio 5 Live (via The Mirror) in 2018: “Milner is causing them [Liverpool] selection problems. He’s in the form of his life.”
This demonstrates how highly he rates the 33-year-old and shows that a deal might well be possible if everything came together.
A domino effect might be in play at Leeds in the future. If Bielsa leaves and Gerrard arrives, he could well add Milner to his playing staff further down the line.
There’s a lot in the way of this happening but it’s a reasonable scenario. Milner is willing to take a pay cut to come back and the pair clearly have a good relationship.