Since Andrea Radrizzani walked into Elland Road, he has transformed the face of Leeds United.
They have gone from a mid-table Championship side to a team now playing some of the most eye-catching and high-intensity football in the Premier League.
He has also made some high-brow transfers. Rodrigo walked through the door last summer for a club-record fee of £30m but their spending could get even greater in the years to come after new investment from the San Francisco 49ers.
However, for all of the money they’ve spent in recent years, it was one of the Italian’s very first signings that has stolen the headlines in Yorkshire. That happens to be Pablo Hernandez.
The Spaniard has won the club’s Player of the Season award on multiple occasions, proving to be a creative and goal-scoring genius for the Whites. He epitomises class and despite his age of 35, has matured like a fine wine.
Hernandez has scored 36 times in the white of Leeds, laying on 41 assists in the process. Clearly, he has been a huge influence for Leeds and his 18 goal involvements last year helped significantly in their bid to be promoted.
Since the former Swansea man signed for the club, Radrizzani and Victor Orta have made some brilliant additions. Rodrigo’s arrival last summer was the peak of them but Patrick Bamford has also been a steady acquisition. He is the club’s top goalscorer this term but hasn’t found the net in his last four outings.
Bamford has a great deal to offer to Leeds but he isn’t the most prolific. After all, Marcelo Bielsa’s men had the fifth-worst conversion rate in the Championship last season (12.5%), despite finishing top of the league.
It wasn’t the best of seasons in front of goal with Bamford finding the net 16 times. Now, that isn’t bad but when you consider his expected goals tally was 34.77, it proves how wasteful he was.
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Thus, the addition of a new forward, particularly a clinical one could prove incredibly beneficial for the Whites. It’s hard to knock the fact that Bamford hasn’t been a good signing in terms of his performances this term, but if they can lure Andy Delort to England, it could well be their best investment since the aforementioned Hernandez.
Why’s that? Well, he has everything you need in a striker, particularly for one who may arrive in England. Delort, who was linked with Leeds last week, admitted in 2020 that he is “crazy about scoring” and in his nine strikes this term, that’s certainly evident. It’s a tally that falls below Bamford but he has also contributed six assists and has blistering pace.
In fact, the Montpellier forward has been clocked at speeds that surpass both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Furthermore, he’s a mighty figure in the air. The Frenchman has won 4.4 aerial duels this term for instance.
His influence in Ligue 1 has been incredible, netting 35 for his current team, and in terms of providing goals and assists in equal measure, he could replicate the sort of performances we’ve seen from Hernandez at Elland Road.
They play in different positions but as we’ve seen, they’re both capable of producing magic moments. You only need to look at his display against Strasbourg earlier this term. He scored twice, claimed an assist and won six aerial duels.
Delort is the complete striker and if we’re looking at players who can grab the bull by the horns, he certainly falls into that category.
He has dug Montpellier out of numerous holes, something Hernandez has done on a regular basis for Leeds since signing.
This would be a stellar addition from Orta if they can conclude a deal in the remaining days of the window.
AND in other news, Bench him: £15k-p/w Leeds liability who lost possession 12x let Bielsa down on Tuesday…