With just a few days remaining on the January transfer window, club’s now need to get their business done sooner rather than.
That of course, applies to outgoings as well as incomings, and potential loan deals for players who need something different from their careers with a temporary move elsewhere.
One Leeds United player who arguably finds himself in that position is Tyler Roberts, with the attacker having struggled to really make an impact for the Elland Road club this season.
Indeed, The Athletic’s Phil Hay recent admitted that he “can’t argue” with the suggestion of a loan move for the Wales international this month.
But what impact could such a deal have on Leeds?
Here, we’ve taken a look at two pros and two cons to the club loaning Roberts out this month.
Pro: Fresh opportunity for Roberts
For Roberts himself, this opportunity could be a welcome one, with things having somewhat stalled for him at Elland Road recently.
The 23-year-old has started just seven of Leeds’ 21 league games so far this season, and at his age, he will want to be playing more regularly than that as he approaches the peak years of his career.
A loan move elsewhere would give him that opportunity, and could allow him to build some confidence and momentum, that puts him in a better position to make a more significant impact when he returns to Leeds in the summer.
Pro: More space in the squad
There can be no denying this has been a very quiet January window in terms of incomings for Leeds.
Since the market reopened at the turn of the year, the Whites have yet to make a first-team signing, despite an apparent need for reinforcements.
Allowing Roberts to move on temporarily however, would leave an opening in the squad for a potential new arrival, and could free up some funds from the wage budget that could potentially be used on bringing in a new recruit.
Con: Attacking numbers already low
If Leeds were to loan out Roberts, then it would leave them even shorter on numbers in what has been something of a problem position for them.
With Patrick Bamford featuring just six times across the course of the campaign due to injury, the club have found themselves struggling for someone to fill the centre forward role.
Bielsa has shown that Roberts is someone he is willing to turn to do that job, so allowing him to move out on loan would reduce their options in that position even further, which could be a risk given their priorities in terms of incomings right now, look to be focused on a midfielder such as Brenden Aaronson.
Con: Other loan moves held up
You would argue that in most cases, clubs would look to loan out younger players with less experience than Roberts, who already has over 150 senior appearances to his name in all competitions.
In someone such as Sam Greenwood, who has featured just four times in the first-team, Leeds do have players whose development could certainly benefit more from a temporary move away from Elland Road.
But if Roberts was to be allowed to leave on a temporary basis, then Greenwood may be the one who given Leeds’ attacking issues, has to be kept around to provide back-up and cover upfront, with that potentially hampering his own progress, if that is a role he is largely filling from the bench.