Leeds: Where are Marcelo Bielsa's first ten signings at Elland Road? | OneFootball

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Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa. A match made in heaven that ultimately ended in heartbreak. El Loco captured the hearts of fans at Elland Road during his four-year spell at the club, going through the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. While things may have ended on a sour note with his departure, there's no questioning the lasting impact the Argentine made in West Yorkshire, guiding the team back to the promised land of the Premier League off the back of some exhilarating, high-intensity football.

Bielsa arrived at the club on June 15 2018, replacing Paul Heckingbottom as manager and signing a two-year contract. While he understandably looked to get to work on the training ground and implementing his unique ideas, the 68-year-old also looked to stamp his authority with some early signings as he looked to take the team out of the Championship. Now, we're taking a look at Bielsa's first ten signings as Leeds United manager and where they are now...

1 Lewis Baker (loan from Chelsea)

The first signing of the Bielsa era, Lewis Baker arrived on loan from Premier League side Chelsea, but would make just 14 appearances in the one season that he was at the club. The midfielder would manage no goals and just one assist during his spell - that coming in the Carabao Cup against first round against Bolton - and it would be no surprise Leeds didn't consider extending his stay.

Since that move, the once highly-rated England U21 star has endured a bit of a journeyman career, being shipped out on loan to several places by Chelsea and really struggling to find a genuine home for himself. A spell at Reading was followed up by stints at Fortuna Dusseldorf and Trabzonspor, before Baker finally found a more permanent home when he made the switch to Championship side Stoke City. The now 28-year-old fell out with current manager Alex Neil towards the back end of last season, and was stripped of the captaincy, and has yet to make a single appearance this campaign.

2 Leif Davis (Morecambe U18s)

Arriving as a young starlet from Morecambe's youth set-up, Leif Davis was seen as one for the future by Bielsa, and the then 17-year-old was sent to train with the club's U18s side. The left-back would however make his first-team debut just months after his arrival though, starting against Aston Villa and helping secure a 3-2 win.

Davis would go on to make a total of 14 first-team appearances for the club, and would even feature against Manchester City in the Premier League. But, after a loan spell at Bournemouth during the 2021/2022 campaign, Leeds decided to cash in on the defender, and would sell him to Ipswich Town for an undisclosed seven-figure fee. His form throughout the campaign with the Tractor Boys did see him pick up some fine individual honours though, being named in the EFL League One Team of the Season and the PFA League One Team of the Season too.

3 Jamal Blackman (loan from Chelsea)

The second player Bielsa to have signed on loan from Chelsea, Jamal Blackman was a towering young goalkeeper that the Blues would be happy to let go on a season-long loan in the summer of 2018. Despite his potential, the former Stamford Bridge starlet would play just two games in a Leeds shirt, both of them coming in the EFL Cup before the Whites were knocked out by Preston North End in the second round of the competition.

Much like Baker before him, Blackman also followed a similar path of a number of loan spells away, with Vitesse, Bristol Rovers and Rotherham all picking him up on a short-term deal from Chelsea. He would make his permanent exit from west London back in 2021 when he would move across the pond to play for LA FC, but has since returned to England, featuring for the likes of Huddersfield Town, Exeter and now currently at Burton Albion.

4 Barry Douglas (Wolves)

The first senior signing Bielsa made with a transfer fee involved, Barry Douglas arrived at Elland Road off the back of a stellar season at Wolves in which the full-back picked up a remarkable 14 assists. While injuries would restrict his time on the pitch and he would register just five assists over his three year spell at the club, Douglas did remain a reliable performer under Bielsa, and would be a vital part of the squad in their eventual promotion back to the Premier League.

The left-back was however loaned to Blackburn Rovers once the Whites had moved up, before being released from his contract at Elland Road come the end of the season. Since then, Douglas has returned to Poland to play for Lech Poznan again, a team he spent a good three years with after leaving his native Scotland back in 2013.

5 Jack Harrison (loan from Manchester City)

One of the biggest success stories in the transfer market under Bielsa, Jack Harrison emerged as a massive part of Leeds' re-emergence under their Argentine coach. Such was the recognition in his value to the side, the winger would be signed on three successive loans from Manchester City, with Bielsa clearly a big fan of keeping him at Elland Road.

Eventually, Harrison would sign on a permanent deal in 2021, and would of course score the stoppage-time winner against Brentford on the final day of the 2021/2022 season to ensure safety in the Premier League. But with the Whites finally seeing their stay in the top-flight end earlier this summer, the 26-year-old would ensure he would still be playing at the highest level after joining Everton on a season-long loan.

6 Patrick Bamford (Middlesbrough)

Leeds United's main man since arriving from Middlesbrough, Patrick Bamford has been the club's number nine for a good few years now, and was given unwavering support by Bielsa despite some serious inconsistencies - especially when it came to the Premier League. After helping to fire the Whites to promotion - he'd bag 16 goals during that season - the striker would enjoy a fine first season in the top-flight, scoring an impressive 17 goals in 38 games.

However, injuries and form contributed to a major decline after that, and when the club were relegated last year, the 30-year-old would manage just four goals in 28 games in the top-flight. If Leeds are to make an immediate return to the Premier League, then you would imagine Bamford would need to be finding his goal-scoring touch in the Championship once again.

7 Izzy Brown (loan from Chelsea)

Another player to have been brought in from Chelsea - clearly Bielsa was a big fan of the west London side's youth development - Izzy Brown had a nightmare loan spell at Leeds. While he would make just two appearances for the club just like one of his former Blues teammates in Jamal Blackman, his game-time would be limited to just 11 minutes of first-team action. In fact, his most notable incident came when he picked up a yellow card in those 11 minutes.

After Leeds, Brown would spend another couple of years out on loan at Luton and Sheffield Wednesday, before finding a more permanent home at Preston North End. However, his spell at Deepdale would not go as planned, with an Achilles injury seeing him ruled out for an extended period of time, before the club decided to release him before the beginning of the 2022/2023 season. Brown would end up announcing his retirement from professional football this April, citing his injury problems - a disappointing end for someone who remains only 26.

8 Kiko Casilla (Real Madrid)

Having signed from Real Madrid, it was no surprise Kiko Casilla would be named Leeds' number one goalkeeper soon after, and would remain in between the sticks for a long time at Elland Road. The Spaniard's career however would take a significant turn for the worse though, when he was mired in a racism controversy involving Jonathan Leko, and would subsequently receive an eight-match ban.

That, added to Illan Meslier's emergence as first-choice shot-stopper saw Casilla's Leeds career fade into obscurity, with the former Madrid man being sent on loan to Elche in his native Spain before having his contract terminated back in west Yorkshire. The 36-year-old would join Getafe on a one-year deal last summer, but after failing to put pen to paper on a new deal, remains without a club right now.

9 Mateusz Bogusz (Ruch Chorzow)

Signed as a highly-rated attacking midfielder from his native Poland, Mateusz Bogusz wouldn't become a familiar name at Elland Road to Leeds fans, making just three appearances in his spell at the club. The 22-year-old wouldn't play a single minute of football in the Premier League, and his only outings once the Whites had made the step-up from the Championship, were run-outs in the Carabao Cup.

After a couple of loan spells in Spain with the likes of Logrones and Ibiza respectively, Bogusz would make his permanent exit from the club in March of this year, joining MLS side LAFC. The former Poland U21 international would join on a four-year contract with the American club, and has since made 17 appearances in the league alone, scoring twice and assisting once.

10 Ben White (loan from Brighton)

The tenth signing Bielsa made after arriving at Leeds United, Ben White was an unqualified success at Elland Road as he led from the back to guide the club into the promised land of the Premier League again. In September 2019, he would win the PFA Championship Player of the Month award, and would also win the Championship Best Young Player honour a few months later too.

White would feature in all 49 games during that promotion-winning season at Leeds, and having seen three bids knocked back for the defender that summer, the Whites would eventually move on to alternative targets. White on the other hand would get a season of Premier League football under his belt playing at parent club Brighton, before Arsenal came calling and put down £50m to sign him and lure him to the Emirates where he has since emerged as a regular starter for Mikel Arteta's side.