Millwall boss Harris on Leeds appointing Bielsa – and big spending of Championship rivals
BY RICHARD CAWLEY
Millwall manager Neil Harris says he cannot wait to pit his wits against new Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa next season.
The 62-year-old, from Argentina, is a high profile appointment for the Yorkshire outfit – with his previous managerial spells taking in his country’s national team, Chile, Marseille, Lazio, Lille and Athletic Bilbao.
But Harris has also pointed to Forest’s £13m signing of Benfica’s Joao Carvalho and Stoke City’s capture of Benik Afobe as a sign of the financial pull of some of the Lions’ rivals.
“He [Bielsa] is a very high-profile manager at club and international level,” said the Millwall chief. “He has a phenomenal CV. I really look forward to locking horns over the course of the season and meeting him, hopefully for a drink, after the game.
“It just shows the ability these huge clubs have at this level in attracting top people with experience.
“It is a foreign manager coming in again, he’ll have to adapt to Championship football – that’s his challenge. I’m sure if he is coming he will want to bring some brand new players with him – I don’t think it will be cheap.
“Leeds are certainly looking to move forward. We have seen Nottingham Forest spend £13 million on one player and Stoke – £10.5 million rising – for Benik Afobe from Wolves.
“So as soon as we start getting above ourselves, we just have to look at things like that. It is a reality check for us, that we are fighting with those clubs at the moment.
“It is a challenge we rose to last year and I fully expect us to do the same next year.”
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