Striker revelation almost enough to force complete Leeds United transfer window rethink - YEP 25/8/22
Rodrigo's scintillating goalscoring start to the season is almost enough to force a complete rethink on the need for a new striker at Leeds United. Almost, but not quite.
By Graham Smyth
No-one, not even Rodrigo himself, had the Spaniard scoring
four from the opening three before a ball was kicked or leading the Whites to a
magnificent triumph over Chelsea with the captain’s armband adorning his bicep.
He did, however, set out with the intention of starting as a
striker for Leeds this season in order to do the same for Spain at the World
Cup, something few, if any, would have entertained as a possibility even as
Jesse Marsch underlined Rodrigo's importance to the squad in the summer.
Instead, all hope and any talk of Qatar dreams centred
around the returning Patrick Bamford, the man most missed among the many
casualties of Leeds' war against injuries last season.
It was Bamford who was going to lead the line and remind
everyone of his importance to the pressing game, his final third presence and
the goalscoring knack that caught the 2020/21 Premier League by surprise.
That he picked up a niggle so early in the current campaign
was no huge shock - any player sitting out for the length of time he did last
season is going to find a return to regular football difficult, no matter how
fastidious the management of his workload may be.
Leeds were extremely cautious over Bamford, they took every
care over his summer programme and still he had to come off inside 30 minutes
at Southampton with a groin issue.
Ordinarily, that very scenario would have left Leeds with no
option but to go out and do what they have been threatening to do all summer
and buy another striker. Rodrigo, however, is doing the extraordinary. He has
been a revelation. He's doing something that very little, if anything, in his
first two Elland Road seasons hinted was possible.
There have been flashes of his undoubted pedigree and
turning points that all-too-quickly looked more like false dawns, but nothing
resembling such a strong claim to the number nine role.
So important has he been to the opening three results that
even if Bamford was fully fit for Saturday, there would be no guarantee of a
start.
With Bamford nearing a return and Joe Gelhardt champing at
the bit to ensure Kalidou Koulibaly is just the first of many victims this
season, Leeds are in a good position when it comes to the forward line. Thanks
almost entirely to Rodrigo, they're in a better position than almost anyone
thought they would be, back in pre-season.
It could be that this position holds. Rodrigo's purple patch
might go on, Bamford might hit a groove physically and put his treatment table
time behind him to duke it out with his Spanish counterpart for a starting
place and Gelhardt could easily stake a claim for far greater involvement. The
trio could perhaps be enough to fire Leeds to a comfortable mid-table finish
and render the great striker debate of 2022 obsolete.
The what ifs go both ways, however. Who can say how many
starts Bamford will be in a position to vie for? Injury struggles that dogged
Rodrigo for two seasons currently look to be far behind him, touch wood, but
can he stay fit and stay firing? The same question applies to Gelhardt, a
genuinely thrilling prospect for whom a bright, bright future awaits, but one
for whom niggles – dead legs and a back issue - have been costly.
There's plenty of hope but no guarantees.
It would feel a common sense approach to get another in,
particularly in the light of last season.
It's never that easy, of course, not when any striker worth
his salt would only make a move in order to play and score goals. Any striker with
the ambition you want in a player would look at Leeds' current situation and
rightly question where his game time was coming from. Keeping everyone happy,
even in a small squad, is a difficult task and there are only so many minutes
to go around. As Marsch has stated, there could be a risk of hampering
Gelhardt's development. Then there’s the finance. Goalscorers come at a premium
and shelling out big money for a player who is likely to only contribute in
emergencies is not wholly in keeping with the sensible financial operation
Leeds have become under majority owner Andrea Radrizzani and CEO Angus
Kinnear’s watch. This summer’s brief was not just giving Marsch the right tools
for his job, it was signing players who can yet appreciate in value. If a striker
who fits the stylistic and pecuniary profile isn’t available, settling for and
spending big on another is likely a hard sell in a boardroom. High stakes
gambling is easy for commentators and critics but less so for those buying the
chips.
However, Leeds did, for a long time, want a striker. They
wanted Eddie Nketiah, who for a short time was a tantalising free agent
prospect, and they desperately wanted Charles De Ketelaere for so many good
reasons, yet when he was taken off the table by AC Milan the pursuit of a
forward still went on 'actively' according to Marsch.
Rodrigo's form may well have taken the edge off any
desperation, but is it enough to change course and go all-in on the status quo?
The next week will be telling but it's all quiet on the
forward front. Leeds say they are always alert to possibilities but feel at
ease with their lot, right now. That's not to say you can rule anything out, as
the out-of-almost-nowhere deadline day arrivals of Raphinha and, to a lesser
degree Daniel James, proved. Fans can be certain that Victor Orta will have
Leeds in position to strike should a presently unavailable target's reality
change. That’s so often the way of it in the market. Pouncing on an opportunity
to strengthen Marsch’s hand is the ideal scenario between now and September 1.
A shiny new striker, and a left-back for good measure, would
allow Orta to bask in the glow of preparing Leeds for a rainy day by ticking
every conceivable box.
The sun shines on Elland Road right now, but in Yorkshire
they know to expect all kinds of weather.
