£8m saved: Leeds bagged an absolute bargain in Pablo Hernandez

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Leeds United were beaten to Alex Pritchard by Norwich City last summer, so signed an absolute bargain instead in Pablo Hernandez.

Pablo Hernandez celebrates

Leeds United’s impressive season was in large part down to their shrewd spending in the transfer market, allowing them to punch above their weight.

One of the smartest deals was the acquisition of former Spain international Pablo Hernandez, with head coach Garry Monk using his old Swansea City contacts to bring him in.

Hernandez was signed on a loan deal from Qatari side Al Arabi before converting that deal to permanent in January.

Leeds United’s Pablo Hernandez

He has proved an absolute steal, and a superior option to a player Leeds were linked with signing who eventually moved for a staggering £8 million.

The Mirror reported last summer that Leeds were keen on signing the former Brentford loanee from Tottenham, only to lose out to big spending Norwich City instead.

Comparing the seasons of the two players, Hernandez has been a real bargain for Leeds.

Hernandez contributed the same number of goals and one more assist than Pritchard, while creating nearly twice as many chances for his team.

The Spaniard has added a touch of real quality to a Leeds team which lacked creativity in previous seasons, and helped get the best out of freescoring forward Chris Wood.

Norwich City’s Alex Pritchard celebrates scoring against Leeds in the cup

The big question for Leeds is whether Hernandez, who recently turned 32, can maintain his level of performance next season.

Norwich’s Alex Pritchard is still only 24 and will be confident of improving next season. His big fee could still turn out to be fair value, but this past season at least, Leeds got the better deal.