The doom and gloom currently engulfing Leeds United is strong.
At Elland Road this season, the Whites have looked like a competent Premier League outfit, in all fairness, as was showcased in their 2-1 win over West Ham United to close out October.
But, Daniel Farke and Co cannot rely on their home form all season long to keep them away from the dreaded relegation spaces, with their away record an abysmal read at the moment.
Only three of Leeds’ 11 points so far this season have been picked up on their disappointing travels, with all of their defeats on the road also seeing the top-flight newcomers offer up very little in an attacking capacity.
The 3-0 loss last time out at Brighton and Hove Albion was an alarming reminder of the gulf in quality between Leeds and the likes of Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls, with Leeds reduced to a relegation-fodder state at the Amex.
Strangely, though, Leeds have pulled off some memorable bits of business this summer that have stuck out amid all the hopelessness, with Noah Okafor already up to two goals at his new employers, as the Whites are usually prone to a transfer clanger or two.
Ranking Leeds' transfer business in recent history
Switzerland international, Okafor, has already been described as a “class difference-maker” by Leeds content creator Oscar Marrio for his goal-laden displays in West Yorkshire.
Successfully completing five dribbles against the rampant Seagulls, too, it will be interesting to see if the Whites can avoid the drop, courtesy of the risky £18m acquisition bombing down the flanks.
The likes of Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach have also stood out in midfield, after joining from Newcastle United and Hoffenheim respectively, with the energy that Okafor offers in spades also visible in this new duo.
Two Premier League strikes have also already been put away by the ex-Magpies star, and his Croat counterpart, with Longstaff even being labelled as “one of the best signings in the Premier League” this summer by journalist Daniel Storey.
Often, comments about Leeds’ recent purchases haven’t always been so complimentary, with the Whites’ summer business heading into 2022/23 – which ended in a pitiful Premier League relegation – sticking out as being full of blunders.
Luis Sinisterra certainly stands out as being a transfer deal gone wrong, with the £21m winger billed as an “animal” by ex-teammate Juan Cuadrado on this entry to England, only for the Colombian to score a weak five goals in the Premier League donning Leeds white, during what was an injury-ravaged stint.
The likes of Rasmus Kristensen, Tyler Adams, and many more around this same time period aren’t remembered fondly, either, as they all left the Leeds train at the earliest possible opportunity, after relegation was confirmed.
Another name that springs to mind is Helder Costa. Costing £12m to obtain under the great Marcelo Bielsa, he then only made an unmemorable 23 Premier League appearances in West Yorkshire.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be praying that he’s not recounted in the same dismissive manner down the line, as the ex-Everton marksman continues to struggle to find his goalscoring groove at Elland Road.
The former England international does have the bonus that he was acquired on a free transfer, so he doesn’t have a weighty Sinisterra-like price tag hanging above his head.
Still, with only one goal coming his way so far this season, he isn’t immune to pelters, with ex-Premier League scout Bryan King even stating recently that he isn’t the “right striker fit” for Leeds if they desperately crave goals to stave off the drop.
It’s too early to judge whether he’s an outright flop, though, but the early signs are concerning. He isn’t alone in being deemed a shaky summer signing, however.
Leeds flop could be seen as one of their worst signings
Heading into top-flight action this season, it was clear Leeds needed to successfully find a long-term replacement for Illan Meslier.
The Frenchman was so error-prone last campaign that £400k recruit Karl Darlow had to be thrown in for the latter matches of the campaign, so their promotion charge wasn’t sabotaged.
Unfortunately, Lucas Perri’s £13.9m arrival this summer from Lyon hasn’t instantly eased the goalkeeping nerves that plagued their Championship promotion story.
The Brazilian stopper joined the building having been branded as an “outstanding” shot-stopper by South American football expert Nathan Joyes, having collected a promising ten clean sheets last season in Ligue 1 action.
He started life in England with two clean sheets collected from his first three Premier League clashes, too, but he has looked worryingly ropey when Leeds have been under the cosh.
In particular, his showing away at Brighton would see journalist Adam Pope criticise the 27-year-old for the amount of “unnecessary” decisions he was making with the ball at his feet that just ramped up more pressure on the all-at-sea defenders on the South Coast.
Games played
5
Goals conceded overall
9
Goals conceded*
1.8
Saves
9
Goals prevented
-0.48
Accurate passes*
18.8 (53%)
The table above doesn’t lie, either, when looking at Pope’s comments, with Perri only managing to accurately complete 53% of his passes so far this season, as the likes of Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson were then put under far more strain than necessary at the Amex.
Moreover, Perri has the worst save percentage among the 21 goalkeepers to have played five or more games so far this season in the Premier League, with nine efforts being hammered past the new Leeds number one, despite only facing 18 total shots.
Amazingly, Leeds might well have just been better sticking it out with their trusty second-in-command from last season in Darlow, with the experienced Welshman managing to make 13 saves across his own span of five Premier League encounters.
At £13.9m, Perri is yet to live up to his high transfer fee, with the highly praised Longstaff even coming into the building for a lower fee himself, at the £12m range.
Even Meslier would come away from his 2022/23 efforts in the top-flight with a higher accurate pass percentage average next to his name, with a worry now that Leeds have forked out significant wads of cash on a ‘keeper who isn’t a noticeable upgrade on what they already had.
The same could be said about Calvert-Lewin, arguably, – if you remove talk of transfer fees – with golden-boot winning Joel Piroe up top now frozen out completely, despite collecting a blistering 19 strikes on the way to promotion being clinched.
Thankfully, Calvert-Lewin’s woes in front of goal have been regularly bailed out already by the likes of Okafor stepping up to the mark as a far more impactful new addition.
In between the sticks, though, it’s harder to go under the radar for your mistakes and errors, with a worry that more unconvincing performances from the £13.9m ‘keeper to come could result in Leeds hurtling straight back down to the second tier.
This would be a gigantic disappointment, with Perri once judged as a clean slate in goal, who could break away from the shoddy days of Meslier.
