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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
After Leeds suffered defeat against Manchester United in the opening game of their pre-season tour, many of their fans were incredibly alarmed by the standard of defending.
Pontus Jansson has, of course, departed the club and his absence was felt hard as the Whites lost 4-0 in Australia.
The Yorkshire club were one of the best in the league defensively last term, conceding the third-fewest goals, but it does now look as though it’s an area they need to improve in.
On the chalkboard
As a solution, it appears Leeds could be turning their attention to James Chester.
The 30-year-old achieved promotion with Aston Villa last term, finding himself a regular member of the side in the first half of the campaign.
The Daily Star has reported that Leeds could make a £7.5m move for the 35-cap Wales international.
Yet, if they did try and land him, they’d be making a considerable mistake.
Why? Because Chester is a player who looks as though he could end up suffering from a knee problem for the rest of his career.
The inflammation he picked up first arose last November, according to the Welshman, but he had to manage it until the New Year period had passed.
However, he then missed the majority of the rest of the season, sitting out a total of 19 games and 103 days from February until May.
Speaking about the problem last season, he said: “I have damaged my body indefinitely, really. It is something I am going to have to manage for the rest of my career.”
And with that in mind, it would be a huge risk to take a chance on the centre-back, regardless of their issues in defence.
The fact is that Leeds need someone they can depend on for the whole season, especially after Gaetano Berardi made just 12 starts last term.
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Jansson was a stalwart, starting 37 times in comparison and as such, they’ll have to bring someone in who is capable of playing on a similar number of occasions, not someone who hasn’t featured since January.
If Leeds do have ambitions of achieving promotion next season they simply have to look elsewhere.
Chester’s injury problems are too big a gamble.
