Although Leeds United’s improvement this season would indicate that a handful of summer arrivals have transformed the quality of the squad, the reality is far different.
Marcelo Bielsa’s arrival at Elland Road was unquestionably the most game-changing decision made by the hierarchy at Leeds during the summer, and it’s the Argentine’s influence which has stimulated a dramatic improvement in the club’s fortunes.
His ability to bring back players from the brink, such as Mateusz Klich, and imprint a new system into the club which has stimulated progression from countless individuals has formed the backbone of his success.
Other than Barry Douglas, the signings which he made during the summer have been relatively uninspiring, although it must be noted that both Patrick Bamford and Izzy Brown have suffered with long-term injury problems.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment has been the signing of Jack Harrison from Manchester City. The 21-year-old arrived with plenty of promise after thriving in the MLS, but so far he has struggled to adapt to the speed and physicality of Championship football.
His apparent lack of penetrative quality has been noted by Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Phil Hay in his recent column, as he revealed a damning statistic which validates the opinion of those who have consistently questioned his effectiveness.
‘It is not happening at any great speed for Harrison either. One goal and no assists is the sum of his effort and he has fewer key passes on his record than Adam Forshaw, who started his first game three weeks ago.’
That Forshshaw, a player who is hardly renowned for his outstanding incisive qualities, has managed to complete more key passes than Harrison is hugely concerning for Bielsa.
A player of Harrison’s style who seeks to disrupt the opponent with his creative guile and direct style of dribbling ought to be playing plenty of key passes, and his failure to do so during his time with Leeds thus far will be giving Bielsa food for thought ahead of the January window.
With just one start in his last five appearances, the writing may already be on the wall for Harrison with little under seven weeks remaining until the window reopens for business.
And it’s fair to say that if he fails to work his way back into contention for a starting berth by January 1st, Bielsa might just be forced to consider signing a new winger to boost Leeds’ promotion bid.
Leeds fans – thoughts? Let us know below!