What Ramazani and Solomon bring to Leeds: Dangerous dribbling and pinpoint crosses — The Athletic 30/8/24
By Nancy Froston
The question facing Leeds United for the past month has been
how they can replace Crysencio Summerville.
Amid swirling panic and an onrushing transfer deadline at
the end of August, the answer was simple in the end: with a degree of patience,
and striking when the right players became available.
However, bolstering the attacking line was not just as
simple (or difficult) as replacing one talismanic player who scored 19 league
goals last season. There is also the issue of finding Georginio Rutter’s
successor at No 10 as well as the additional midfielder and full-back that have
been on manager Daniel Farke’s shopping list since the start of the window.
The work to address those areas continues at the start of
the final day of the window, with Japanese midfielder Ao Tanaka, 25, on the way
from Fortuna Dusseldorf for £3.4million ($4.5m) and a deal to secure Isaac
Schmidt, 24, from St Gallen in Switzerland still in progress.
As for the more direct replacements for Summerville on the
wing, the patience of the recruitment team at Elland Road paid off with
Tottenham Hotspur loanee Manor Solomon, 25, and Almeria’s £10million-man Largie
Ramazani, 23, arriving in the past week.
Both players are highly rated and will offer different
options for Farke — with former Belgium Under-21 international Ramazani
comparable in style to Summerville even if his new manager is keen not to heap
too much pressure on his shoulders through that comparison. Israel
international Solomon, meanwhile, provides quality on both flanks and this will
complement what Willy Gnonto and Dan James offer.
Ramazani is a product of the Manchester United academy and
has spent the last four years at Almeria in La Liga, scoring four goals and
providing five assists last season. His potential far exceeds those numbers,
however, and there are similarities in his game to Summerville’s which should
make him a good fit in Leeds’ current system.
A confident and tricky dribbler who can play across the
front line, Ramazani satisfies the need for a creative forward player who likes
to move inside from wide areas. He also adds to Leeds’ homegrown player quota
given his years developing as a youngster in Manchester.
The sequence below shows an example of what Ramazani will offer Leeds. Playing for Almeria in a central role against Celta Vigo in September 2023, his explosive dribbling ability and low centre of gravity allowed him to take four defenders out of the game and progress into the final third.
Once there and in a dangerous area on the left-hand side of the box, Ramazani drilled a low ball across the box which his team-mate Sergio Arribas tapped in.
When playing on the left, a lot of his play at Almeria was
similar to Summerville’s at Leeds. One goal, against Las Palmas in October, saw
him latch on to a ball over the top and cut inside for a side-footed finish
(watch below).
While it might take some time for him to get up to the
levels of physicality that the Championship demands, there is every reason to
believe Ramazani is capable of reaching the heights of Leeds’ most recent
mercurial winger in Summerville.
A well-taken goal in a league match against Real Madrid,
where Almeria applied early pressure to force a turnover of possession, is one
example of him stepping up against top-level opposition.
With the first goal of the game and just 33 seconds on the
clock, Ramazani was quick to catch up with play after the turnover of
possession, getting into a good position between centre-back and left-back to
have a one-on-one shot at goal. He took that chance well and slotted home under
pressure.
Ramazani is a medium-to-long-term prospect for Leeds,
although there is no reason to believe he will not contribute in the short
term.
“When we speak about our new players, a player like Largie
Ramazani is judged right now as the replacement for Crysencio Summerville or
Georginio Rutter but he is not,” Farke said. “I do not want to put too much
pressure on his small shoulders, he is a young player who has not played one
game in English football at senior level. Of course, he was involved in the
academy but academy life and senior-level life is a completely different sport.
“So we have to keep in mind that for the last three years he
has been playing in a really good league, but it is a different country with a
different football culture. It will take a while until he is ready for the
physical demands of proper English football, especially in the Championship. We
will give him time to adapt and develop but he is important for the mid- and
long-term future because he is a player with bags of potential and lots of
skills. He’s a great human being so he’s an important signing for us, but right
now it would be unfair to see him as a direct replacement for our top players
last season.”
Both Ramazani and Solomon will offer options out wide but
could be used in the No 10 role if needed. Likewise, by creating depth among
Leeds’ wingers, Gnonto could also fill that gap which has — to mixed success —
been occupied by Joel Piroe and Brenden Aaronson since Rutter’s exit.
Solomon is a more Championship-ready player in terms of
experience, having featured in the Premier League for Fulham and Tottenham as
well as in the Champions League. United plan to give him time to reach full
fitness, however, after he spent an extended period on the sidelines from
September 2023 with a knee injury.
As a result, drawing a conclusion of his time at Tottenham
is difficult, with just three starts to his name since he signed on a free
transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2023.
Solomon is more likely to stay wide, much like James, when
playing in that role and offers more service into the box than Ramazani. His
crosses from deep, seen in Tottenham’s pre-season friendly against Hearts, are
effective service for strikers.
Latching on to a through ball, shown in the still below, Solomon’s first thought is to send a cross into the box.
He did so with his first touch, reaching Son Heung-min in the centre with a good ball. Son’s shot was saved and Brennan Johnson, arriving on the right of the image, would also have been a good option from this situation.
So far in his time in England, Solomon impressed most in his
year at Fulham which attracted Tottenham’s interest. Leeds will not have
forgotten the quality goal he scored against them in February 2023, although it
has been a frustrating spell since that season with injury and limited
opportunities at Tottenham.
A brace of assists against Burnley early last campaign
highlighted his ability to carry the ball and form a good dialogue with a
striker, in this case he assisted Son both times.