Aapo Halme’s display gives Leeds reason for optimism in defeat

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Aapo Halme has endured an extremely difficult start to life with Leeds United having joined the club in January.

Up until a few weeks ago, it seemed that many Leeds fans had been left almost questioning whether they had actually seen a defender named Aapo Halme join the club in January.

For months, Halme’s name often only got a mention amongst the Elland Road faithful when another of the Whites players threatened to be forgotten about after sustaining an injury that looked set to rule them out for any substantial period. It appeared that the youngster could be destined to be considered one of Victor Orta’s worst buys at a time when the Spaniard was being slated by the supporters on a weekly basis.

But the centre-back has now not only proved that he does indeed exist, but is also threatening to establish himself as an important part of Carlos Corberan’s plans in the under-23 side.

After making his debut in the recent game against Queens Park Rangers – which came after nearly nine months on the sidelines – he started alongside Hugo Diaz at the heart of the Leeds defence at Bolton on Monday night.

And while the game would end in defeat for the Whites, it has to be said that Halme provided one of the major positives from the contest after putting in a very impressive performance.

The Finn made a number of strong challenges and blocks that hinted that he is looking to make up for lost time at Elland Road, and arguably emerged from the game as one of the better performers amongst a lineup that included several first-team squad players who would have been hoping to catch Marcelo Bielsa’s eye with their displays.

It seems incredibly unlikely that he will be putting any pressure on the likes of Liam Cooper and Pontus Jansson anytime soon, but perhaps it would not be the greatest surprise if he became a player being tipped for a first-team chance by the time the campaign concludes.

Not bad for a player that had left plenty of Leeds fans understandably questioning whether he was actually still under contract for much of the year.