Leeds United have made a decent start to life back in the Premier League. Several of their key stars have done well, but Noah Okafor has really caught the eye and is proving sporting director Adam Underwood’s summer call right.
The Whites missed out on some of their top attacking targets in the summer, and sporting director Underwood and his recruitment team came under immense pressure in the final month of the window to deliver new players.
Most Read on The Leeds Press
Igor Paixao was their top target to bring in for the wide areas. However, the Brazilian had his heart set on joining Marseille, and Leeds failed to change his mind despite holding concrete talks with his representatives.
It took a while for Leeds to pivot, but they did eventually settle on Okafor and worked out a deal to sign him from AC Milan in August to bolster their wide options.
The Leeds United star is ‘horrible to play’ against
Okafor had an injury-plagued last couple of seasons and played very little football in the 12 months before joining Leeds in the summer window.
There were question marks over his fitness and ability to adapt to the Premier League. However, the Swiss winger has emerged as Leeds’ most potent attacking threat.
Former Leeds star Aidy White stressed that Okafor is horrible to play against for a defender, especially on the break, because of his ability to dribble and take on his opponents in one-v-one duels.
The winger is a real threat because of how direct he is and the way he makes defenders commit to challenges due to his ability to dribble past them.
“What he gives you is a massive threat, especially on the counter, when he is driving at players”, White said on BBC Radio Leeds.
“We saw that in the first half, when defenders are facing him, he is probably one of the last players you would want [to come up against].
“Because he has got pace, he is so direct in his style.
“He makes you commit, and it is horrible to play against attackers like that.
“And in the second half [against West Ham], we missed that kind of an outlet.”
Okafor has been a revelation
With Wilfried Gnonto and Daniel James still getting back to fitness, Leeds will hope that Okafor’s abductor injury is not too serious.
He missed the Burnley game and could only play 45 minutes against West Ham. Leeds need the Swiss winger to be fit as he appears to be their most direct attacking threat.
Okafor makes things happen when he is on the pitch, and his remarkably physical as a winger, who also manages to win aerial duels with defenders.
He is very good when it comes to committing defenders on one-on-one duels, and largely wins those battles, which makes him a very difficult forward to deal with.
His dribbling ability and mastery in one-on-one duels make him Leeds’ most direct attacking threat. The Whites need him to remain fit and firing to aid their bid to stay in the Premier League this season.
Related Topics