Leeds United have not scored a goal since Lukas Nmecha converted the penalty to win all three points against Everton in their opening game of the season last month. The Whites have not found the back of the net from open play yet this season, and they are not looking like a team that will score many goals.
Daniel Farke was acutely aware of his team’s problems in the final third and demanded two more attacking reinforcements towards the end of the window. However, their muddled approach left them with little money to spend at the end, and a deadline day move for Harry Wilson also collapsed.
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Leeds are creating very little, and they do not have the strikers who are prolific enough to take those half-chances they are managing to conjure during games. The Fulham defeat was unlucky, but there was no luck involved when Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed straight at Bernd Leno at Craven Cottage.
Questions are being raised about whether Leeds have the strikers to score enough goals needed to survive, and a cursory glance at the numbers would suggest they don’t.
Can you name these 10 former Leeds United midfielders?
The 49ers’ expertise should be questioned after what they did at Leeds United this summer
A proper assessment of the transfer window would reveal how much the 49ers and Leeds messed up after strengthening their defence and midfield.
Lukas Nmecha was the first signing of the summer on a free transfer. They focused on the defence, midfield and the goalkeeping areas for the next few weeks.
However, following the arrival of Lucas Perri in late July and the failed Igor Paixao bid, Leeds took more than three weeks to secure the deal for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who was a free agent.
Farke wanted one more striker, and it is clear why he wanted that, as a cursory glance at Nmecha and Calvert-Lewin’s records would show that they are not anyone’s idea of first-choice forwards.
Calvert-Lewin’s injuries are well-documented, but even when he has been fit, he has not been a proven goal scorer for years. A record of 18 league goals in the last four seasons is a testament to that.
Nmecha’s injury and goal-scoring record are even worse than those of his Leeds teammate. The former Manchester City forward has managed 16 goals in the last four years, with only eight in the last three.
The two strikers Leeds signed over the summer have combined to score 34 goals in the last four seasons. The club are banking on their medical team to keep them fit, but who will improve their goal scoring record, given neither is anyone’s idea of a developing forward.
No attacking midfielder was signed
Brenden Aaronson struggled in his previous stint in the Premier League, and anyone who watched him in the Championship would have predicted the same this year as well.
The American is not good enough to play in the English top flight. However, Farke showed little inclination to sell him, and Leeds didn’t provide him with another option from the market.
This Leeds team are depending on a defensive midfielder, Anton Stach, to be their creative hub in the middle. It is no surprise that they looked bereft of creative influence.
The recruitment team built a squad with a strong defence and midfield, but lacking creativity. They further exacerbated the problem by signing two strikers who are injury-prone and erratic in front of the goal.
It’s the kind of squad planning that ends up in teams suffering relegation from the Premier League, and that would derail the 49ers’ £1bn vision.
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