Good Morning. It's Thursday 18th July, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
52% of the 23/24 Leeds squad are no longer at the clubThere are now only 23 days until Championship new boys Portsmouth arrive at Elland Road for the 24/25 season opener, and once again Leeds aren't ready! 17 of the 33 players that entertained us that season are no longer at the club, which translates to 52% of Farke's squad. To make matters worse, we are likely to lose Junior Firpo to Real Betis, and there are real question marks regarding Wilfred Gnonto.
This time last year the club had a valid excuse, and were quick to identify this as one of the main reasons why we narrowly missed out on promotion! Adding Rodon to the squad was a master-stoke, and the arrival of Rothwell and Cairns will give some depth, but very soon Sam Byram could be our only recognised wing-back. Is it time to press the panic button?
Bogle keen to join WhitesJayden Bogle has told friends he is keen on joining Leeds, and insists he will not be signing a contract extension at Bramall Lane. The exciting young wing-back has just twelve months remaining on his five year contract, but the Blades are blissfully aware how much Leeds need his services! Currently, Daniel Farke does not have a specialist right-back at his disposal (unless you count Sam Byram) and time is running out.
The Whites have had two bids knocked back, the latest believed to be in the region of £4m, but the Blades want £7m, and are prepared to play hard-ball. Do Leeds up their price, or look elsewhere?
Kamara replacement yet to arriveJoe Donohue has penned an interesting article in this morning's YEP, suggesting that Joe Rothwell is not the likely replacement for Glen Kamara, insinuating another midfielder is on the way! In recent times, we've rarely seen Leeds players attempting too many long passes. They like to play the ball from the back, use their width (and pace) and keep possession. Rothwell offers something different. He is in the top 8% of comparable midfielders for long searching balls. Whilst this means his passing success rate is lower, he's also more likely to unlock defences! According to Donohue...
To suggest Kamara and Rothwell operate in a similar way, though, would not strictly be true, either. It certainly appears, in the data at least, that Rothwell has been recruited to add something different to Kamara. While he may occupy the same position on the teamsheet and may yet be handed the Finnish international's old squad number, the two.
Rothwell's pass completion rate is also much lower than Kamara's at 77.2 per cent, as opposed to the Finland international's 92.7 per cent last term - but there are reasons for such a great disparity. Namely, 98 per cent of midfielders competing in comparable leagues attempted more long passes - which tend to have a lower success rate - than Kamara last season, who was not a frequent switcher of play or line-breaker with searching balls over the top, to say the least.
Rothwell, on the other hand, is rather adept at long passing, attempting five times as many as Kamara in any given 90-minute period, with a success rate which places him in the top eight per cent of midfielders across comparable competitions. Furthermore, Rothwell's 2.0 key passes per 90 exceeds Kamara's 1.3 per 90 last season, however the Finn does trump Leeds' newest addition ever so slightly in successful passes into the penalty area and passes into the final third, but not by much.
Where the pair continue to differ is, unsurprisingly, in possession and what they do with the ball. Kamara rarely appeared a line-breaking ball-carrier, disrupting opposition defences by striding into space. Rothwell, however, appears closer to that particular description having averaged 3.00 progressive carries per 90 during 2021/22, to Kamara's 1.57 last season.
