Leeds’ front line has been one of the most perplexing in English football this season.
Despite at one stage possessing a £10m acquisition and an Arsenal forward learning from Ian Wright, the Whites still have the second-worst conversion rate in the entire of the Championship.
Patrick Bamford has had mixed success in front of goal, failing to score routine opportunities and also missing a penalty against QPR to scoring four in his opening five matches of the campaign.
However, too often he’s been lacking in front of goal. Even a period of ten fixtures without finding the net failed to see Nketiah get an opportunity. The loan addition of Jean-Kevin Augustin has failed to take Leeds to the next level either.
At one stage, it looked as though United’s inability to kill teams off would be their own worst enemy in the fight for promotion.
Though, after a 4-0 win over Hull last weekend, it appears as though Marcelo Bielsa’s men have their mojo back. It was a rare hammering from the Yorkshire outfit who are second in the table and five points clear of Fulham.
If there was ever a season where Leeds got promoted, surely this is it. Bielsa’s side have been well set all term but few fans need reminding of what happened towards the back end of last campaign.
United failed to win any of their final four matches and ultimately had to settle for a place in the playoffs.
The same could happen again this season but as things stand, the Whites will be back in the Premier League for the first time in 16 long hard years.
If that happens, Leeds are set to shell out €21m (£18.2m) on Augustin, according to one report. The Frenchman is only at Elland Road for a temporary stint but Victor Orta managed to negotiate an option to buy in the terms of the loan deal. Though, if Leeds get promoted, that option becomes a complete obligation and the club will be stuck with him.
It seems perplexing that Orta would agree such a heavy deal. Despite all of the TV money that would come from achieving top-flight status, spending that much on a player who doesn’t seem as though he’ll get a look in between now and the end of the season is strange.
In some senses, Leeds’ Director of Football hasn’t learned from the Nketiah situation. He didn’t start until the back end of 2019 in the league and the 20-year-old clearly didn’t suit Bielsa’s system. The same can be said of Augustin.
Call yourself a Leeds expert? How much did each of these January signings cost?
The Argentine has already started making excuses, suggesting he isn’t fit enough and indeed he’s now injured. The RB Leipzig forward arrived ready to make an impact – after all, this is a player who has scored in the Champions League.
But if he doesn’t suit Bielsa and he fails to make an impact at Elland Road now, it would be foolish to spend £18.2m on a player who the manager simply doesn’t appreciate.
Leeds will need to strengthen if they end up back in the Premier League, but Augustin has so far shown he’d be no upgrade, not even in the Championship.
In other Leeds news, one player can take Mateusz Klich to the NEXT LEVEL at Elland Road…
