How does Danny Williams compare to Leeds United counterparts?

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The Reading midfielder was linked with a move to Elland Road this week.

Danny Williams scoring for Reading at Sheffield Wednesday

Reading’s Danny Williams is the latest name to be linked with a move to Leeds United this summer.

The Reading Chronicle reports the American midfielder has been offered to a number of Championship clubs, including the Whites, after entering the final year of his deal.

As it happens, Leeds may be in need of a new central midfielder, after Lewis Cook’s departure to Bournemouth last week.

Leeds United’s Lewis Cook scores his only goal of the campaign against Fulham

But how do the two compare in six key areas?

Williams would certainly bring an added goal threat to Garry Monk’s midfield, having scored five goals and set up another two in last season’s Championship. While Cook managed as many assists, he found the net on four fewer occasions (1).

The Reading man also won more than double the youngster’s number of interceptions per game (2.21 to 0.91) and makes around eight more accurate passes per game on average (37.49 to 29.35).

However, there are aspects of Williams’ game which are inferior to those of Cook. Though only slightly (11.38 to 12.53), he makes fewer forward passes per game than the Whites’ academy graduate, and around 40 per cent fewer tackles per game.

Skeptics (or rather, realists) will claim Leeds had already lined up Matt Grimes as Cook’s replacement – and this may well be the case.

New Leeds recruit Matt Grimes during his Blackburn loan spell

However, Williams trumps the Swansea City loanee in all but one of the above areas, with Grimes managing the same amount of assists in exactly a third as many appearances on loan to Blackburn Rovers.

In fact, of all of Leeds’ central midfielders last term (+ 10 appearances), only Liam Bridcutt, now back at Sunderland of course, betters Williams in more than one of the chosen six categories (accurate passes, forward passes, tackles and interceptions).

Perhaps they should focus on signing him instead? Or get both…

Former Leeds loanee Liam Bridcutt