Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United have been made to pay for their wastefulness throughout the Championship season; if only they had signed Baghdad Bounedjah.
Xavi Hernandez knows a world-class talent when he sees one.
And a former World Cup, La Liga and Champions League winner who has shared a pitch with Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o and David Villa uring a storied career was left blown away by the ruthless finishing skills of a man who, despite boasting a remarkable goal-scoring record, is far from a household name in Europe.
‘Exceptional’, he called him.
“Bounedjah is an exceptional player. It happens, often, that he makes the difference,” said the legendary Xavi, who has grown accustomed to seeing Baghad Bounedjah put the ball in the back of the net since taking over as the head coach of Al Sadd last summer (Afrique Sports).
This Algerian goal-machine is one of the hottest goal-scoring talents in the game and his achievements should not be overlooked, even if Middle Eastern opposition cannot hold a candle to their European counterparts.
But one man who has not ignored Bounedjah’s outstanding track record can be found sitting on a bucket in rainy West Yorkshire.
Competition.dz reported in the autumn that Marcelo Bielsa wanted to bring the fearsome 28-year-old valued at a bargain £6.5 million to Leeds United.
And maybe, with Leeds’ enduring wastefulness in front of goal undermining their promotion prospects, they should have turned their initial interest into something more tangible.
In all competitions this season, Bounedjah has scored 16 goals in 19 games – more than Leeds’ much-maligned number nine Patrick Bamford has managed in 34 matches.
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations winner has spent his entire career in something of a permanent purple patch, netting 42 times in 33 games last season, 29 in 23 the year before.
Leeds will be praying that Bamford can take a leaf out of Bounedjah’s book with Premier League football on the line.
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