Besides all the narratives, duels and battles that will be served up in the coming months, former Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov is looking forward to the new Premier League season for a very specific reason — Marcelo Bielsa and the Leeds United juggernaut.

The Bulgarian striker, who also plied his trade with Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham, sang praises of the Argentinian manager and the EFL Championship winners during his special guest appearance at Astro's launch for the new season.

"I had a chance to play against them for United. I know how crazy their fans are, how supportive they are of their team. I also saw how they celebrated their promotion to the Premier League.

"They will probably build a statue for Bielsa, he is so loved there. He’s a great name in football. This is why it will be more interesting to watch Leeds back in the Premier League because Bielsa is a coach that everyone respects so much. You even hear Pep Guardiola talking so highly about him." he said.

In his first season in charge of Leeds, Bielsa almost got them back into the Premier League, only for Derby County to destroy their hopes in the 2018/2019 play-off semi-finals.

Despite the setback, the former Athletic Bilbao boss rallied his troops in the following season, got them playing an intense brand of football and sealed promotion in a manner that impressed football followers across the globe.



But Berbatov pointed out that the Premier League would be a completely different landscape in terms of intensity and Leeds must take inspiration from Sheffield United’s run in the league last season.

"They are going to bring something to the Premier League and I’ll be curious to see how it goes. What happened to Fulham — when they got promoted and then relegated back to the Championship immediately — you don’t want that to happen.

"I want to see them fight, like Sheffield United. They were a great, great surprise. I was supporting them during the season, because they surprised me with the way they played football," Berbatov added.

Leeds United get their Premier League season underway against reigning champions Liverpool on September 12, live on Astro Supersport 3 (CH813/833).