Think of him and Rutter: Leeds is fighting to sign a “towering” £12 million star.
Leeds United lost in the play-off final at Wembley last month, which was one of the worst ways possible for them to miss out on promotion to the Premier League.
Thanks to a goal from Adam Armstrong in the first half, a whole season’s worth of work ended in a dull 1-0 loss to Southampton, and the Whites now have to get ready for a second season in the Championship.
Daniel Farke, the head coach, will reflect on the 2023–24 season and find ways to make his team better in order to avoid losing again.
Daniel Farke, the head coach, will reflect on the 2023–24 season and find ways to make his team better in order to avoid losing again.
Three of his strikers failed compared to their xG, as the above table shows, and two of them, Patrick Bamford and Georginio Rutter, underperformed noticeably—by a combined 12.16 xG.
The summer transfer window officially began for business earlier this month, so the German manager may take advantage of the opportunity to strengthen his assault.
The West Yorkshire team has been connected to a forward from the Bundesliga, so work on that front appears to be under way already.
Leeds United is vying for a £12 million attacker.
As reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post and the printed edition of The Sunday Mirror (23/06/24), Leeds is among the teams vying to capture Bayer Leverkusen star Adam Hlozek this summer.
According to the report, the Whites and West Ham United of the Premier League are just two of the teams monitoring his status with the Bundesliga winners.
According to the report, Xabi Alonso’s team is expected to let go of the versatile forward before the 2024–2025 season, and Farke is reportedly planning to take advantage of this by making a play for his services in the upcoming weeks.
According to the source, Leverkusen is willing to pay over £12 million for the international player from the Czech Republic, who is presently representing his nation in the 2024 European Championship.
But it’s unclear at this point whether Leeds is prepared to pay the rumored £12 million needed to sign him before the transfer window closes, or if the player is eager to move from Germany’s top level to England’s second division.
However, if they are able to sign him, they may be able to find Rutter an intriguing partner for the last portion of the Championship season the following year.
The imaginative genius of Georginio Rutter for Leeds
With his careless finishing for the Whites, the French youth had a dreadful season in front of goal, as the xG table above shows.
It is undeniable that Rutter needs to raise his level of finishing next season after passing up far too many excellent opportunities for Farke’s team.
The 22-year-old wizard did, however, do a great job providing opportunities for other players to find the back of the net during possession.
The former Hoffenheim prodigy showed that he always tried to set up his teammates as he finished the season with an incredible 15 assists and 22 “big chances” produced in 45 league appearances for Leeds.
The right-footed magician performed exceptionally well in comparison to his positional contemporaries in the division, which is supported by outstanding underlying chance creation statistics.
He was among the best in the Championship at setting up quality opportunities for his fellow attackers, as the table above illustrates.
These stats demonstrate the Leeds magician’s ability to consistently breach defenses of opponents with his incisive and inventive passing from the number ten spot.
With the potential to be both an exceptional creator and a deadly finisher in the Championship next season, this may make him an enticing companion for Hlozek at Elland Road.
Reasons for signing Adam Hlozek by Leeds
First of all, the club would be bringing in a gifted young starlet with time to develop and improve throughout his stay in Yorkshire, as he only turns 22 next month.
Farke might work with the young player—who U23 scout Antonio Mango called a “diamond”—to help him develop on the field and, ultimately, raise his value so the Whites may potentially profit from him in the future.
Second, unlike Bamford, Joseph, and Rutter, Hlozek has the finishing ability to be the German head coach’s go-to choice in the closing third.
The 6 foot 1 marksman, nicknamed “towering” by Mango, scored seven goals from an xG of 5.72 in his two seasons in the Bundesliga with Leverkusen, an overperformance of 1.28.
The gifted player, who netted three goals in four DFB Pokal games, has demonstrated his ability to finish at a high rate in a top European league, indicating that he may be a merciless finisher who would benefit from Rutter’s inventiveness at Leeds.
He came to Leverkusen following two outstanding league seasons with Sparta Prague in his native country, as the table above illustrates.
Hlozek finished 48 games with an incredible 44 direct goal contributions. Farke may want to bring out more of his creative side, as 21 of those contributions were assists, to go along with his excellent finishing.
Because of his talent in front of goal, he might provide Rutter with an exciting companion at the top of the pitch for the Whites next season, making up for the Frenchman’s shortcomings in that area.
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