Leeds United complete signing from Tottenham… with temporary £300,000 pitch to be installed ahead of Everton clash after Elland Road woes

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Leeds are not expected to be particularly busy in the transfer market this month, but they will be making one noticeable improvement – thanks to the help of Premier League rivals Tottenham.

The Whites are installing a new playing surface at Elland Road in time for their next home game against Everton in 12 days.

Leeds’ pitch has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks

The surface does not appear to suit their attacking style of play

Leeds’ pitch came in for heavy criticism during last weekend’s defeat to Brighton – with Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish taking aim at the state of the surface – and a temporary resolution has now been found thanks to Spurs.

It’s understood to have cost the club around £300,000, with the turf available to source following a lack of NFL fixtures this season at Tottenham’s new stadium.

Leeds said in a statement: “Following the effects of recent weather in the region, Leeds United are re-turfing Elland Road with a hybrid pitch, which will be installed ahead of our Premier League game with Everton on February 3.

“Plans are already in place to work with Hewitt Sportsturf on a complete pitch reconstruction at Elland Road, which will include a brand-new state of the art drainage system and this work will commence in May.

“However, following consultation with the board and playing staff, the club have invested in a short-term solution, which will improve the pitch for the remaining games of the 2020/21 campaign.”

Jack Grealish made his feelings clear on the state of the Elland Road surface

The current pitch will be removed over the weekend and replaced with new surface, which will be laid by early next week.

The club’s head of facilities Mark Broadley added: “After the recent heavy rainfall and snow, it became evident that the current system was unable to cope and as a result was struggling to retain sufficient stability in the top surface.

“We reviewed all options available and agreed the best possible solution was to remove the top surface and install the hybrid turf system HT Pro as seen at Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City.”

Leeds chief executive Angus Kinnear said in his programme notes on Saturday that the club were unable to undertake ‘a full reconstruction’ of the playing surface last summer because the close season had been cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.

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