Bielsa could discover the new Ferdinand in 19 y/o "leader" who can save Leeds millions - opinion

Leeds United’s defensive troubles continued this week as Marcelo Bielsa’s senior outfit were thrashed by yet another one of the Premier League’s top dogs.

A six-goal thrashing by Liverpool sees the Whites’ worrying record extend to 38 goals conceded across their last 12 outings in all competitions, meaning they are leaking 3.2 goals per game.

An alarming figure indeed.

The 30th of November was the last time that the Yorkshiremen kept a clean sheet.

To Bielsa’s credit, he has been without some key figures in this run, mainly club captain Liam Cooper and midfield anchorman Kalvin Phillips. At Anfield, Robin Koch and Diego Llorente were also missing, leaving the Argentinian head coach with just one senior centre-back in Pascal Struijk.

However, there was one name on the bench that could prove to be an interesting solution and one that can save chairman Andrea Radrizzani millions of pounds in upcoming transfer windows.

In the absence of the aforementioned stars, it’s potentially damning on the manager that he did not name Charlie Cresswell in the starting XI as he has proven his worth in what limited game time he’s received.

His one start in the top-flight, a win over West Ham United in January, garnered some high praise indeed. Despite being a towering 6 foot 3, the 19-year-old gem was dubbed a ‘pass-master’ by Football Insider before pundit and ex-Leeds star Noel Whelan waxed lyrical about his ability.

“If some of those first-teamers aren’t performing, he’s waiting in the wings to take the opportunity,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how young he is. He’s shown that he can produce against some of the best in the Premier League.”

Podcaster and presenter Joe Wainman also backed the youngster to become a hit at Elland Road.

“Tha