da dobrowin： 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…
da brdice： With the international break set to come to an end, all attention is moving to club matters once again.
Gaetano Berardi was offered a reprieve after his red card against Millwall before the international break but he is set to be given another chance to prove himself as a feasible centre-back option whilst captain Liam Cooper recovers from his injury.
In fact, this is possibly one of the last chances he has to secure a new contract before it ends next summer.
Whilst there are reports that the club are yet to open negotiations with the Swiss defender, offering a new contract would be a really precarious move by the club.
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His performances in a white shirt have raised a few questions, most notably from former Leeds United man Noel Whelan. Speaking to Football Insider recently, he said the following about the error-prone defender.
“We’ve got Liam Cooper out injured and after Berardi’s red card against Millwall was rescinded, he has the opportunity to go out there and put in some performances to earn that new contract from Leeds United as he can prove to the club that he is a player they need. To be quite honest, I don’t think he’d be good enough to be a regular for the first-team in the Premier League.”
Whelan might be talking about his worth, or lack thereof when it comes to the Premier League, it would be somewhat worrying if Leeds would be willing to stick with as many players from the current set-up as possible.
As discussed previously on FFC with Pablo Hernandez, a new contract for Berardi would almost seem as if they are doing it in preparation for not getting promoted this season.
If they felt like they were going to be promoted, surely they’d want to invest in the kind of players that can make a difference in that division rather than someone who is getting on in terms of age.
After all, the Swiss has been under fire from supporters too so clearly isn’t well-liked at Elland Road.
Given that Berardi’s style can only be described as a liability based off his disciplinary record, even before the red card against Millwall was rescinded, a new contract for him would smack of a lack of ambition and unwillingness to change from Marcelo Bielsa, and should not happen.