Leeds United manager Daniel Farke holding a thumbs up and smiling next to a Leeds badge.
Leeds United have had multiple players who have enjoyed successful campaigns up to this point.
With the Whites fighting admirably against relegation whilst also giving a good account of themselves in the FA Cup for a change, there are plenty of reasons for Leeds supporters to be positive.
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Ethan Ampadu and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are just a couple of names that spring to mind when you think of who United’s best player is within Daniel Farke’s squad.
However, neither of the two aforementioned players was Graham Smyth’s pick as Leeds’ best player, with the journalist having his say on the matter.
Graham Smyth labels ‘classy operator’ Gabriel Gudmundsson as Leeds’ best player
Gudmundsson, 26, has been nothing short of a revelation on the left-hand side of Leeds’ defence this season, with the £10million the 49ers had to fork out to Lille to secure his services looking to be a bargain.
Although they will have no plans to, if Leeds were to sell Gudmundsson in the summer, it is a reasonable expectation that they would at least double their money, considering the quality of the performances the Swedish defender has put in on a consistent basis this season.
Smyth was discussing Gudmundsson on the most recent episode of the Inside Elland Road podcast, with the Yorkshire Evening Post journalist having this to say about United’s left-back.
“Somebody asked me yesterday who the player of the season would be right now. It’s a really difficult question, but Gudmundsson is very much in the conversation for me.
“I think I’m becoming more and more convinced that he is Leeds United’s best player. He is the player with the highest ceiling of anyone in the squad. I just see so much potential in him and so much ability, just a classy operator at a good stage in his career, he’s got plenty of time left, international player, so much to like about him.”
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Data suggests Gabriel Gudmundsson has been unlucky this season
For how impressive Gudmundsson has been this season, supporters of other clubs may not truly understand just how valuable the defender has been this season for Leeds when just looking at his stats.
Remarkably, despite all the good attacking work the Swede does down the left flank, he is yet to register a goal or an assist in his 25 Premier League appearances so far.
The data, however, suggests Gudmundsson has been extremely unlucky not to do so up to this point, with the defender having an expected goals of 0.97 so far this season
The Swede has also been unfortunate to not record an assist for Leeds in the top-flight, with Gudmundsson having an expected assists of 1.98
Furthermore, Gudmundsson has also created three big chances in the Premier League so far this season (Sofascore)
Whilst not every Leeds fan will agree with Smyth’s assessment of Gudmundsson being Leeds’ best player, there is a valid argument that he is United’s most important player, given the lack of depth in his position.
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