Leeds United signed three new strikers this summer but none of them had any experience of English football.
Leeds United’s busy summer transfer window quickly generated excitement among the club’s fans and, by the time the window closed, a whole host of new faces were ready to stake a claim at Elland Road.
However, in hindsight it seems Leeds’ director of football Victor Orta took a huge gamble when it came to his striking options, replacing Chris Wood with three players who had no experience of English football.
Pierre-Michel Lasogga has scored five goals in 10 league games this season, but his best performance by some way came on his debut against a poor Burton Albion side and he needs to do more to win over the doubters despite his decent start.
At least he has found the goal, with Jay-Roy Grot yet to score in 11 (albeit brief) appearances and Pawel Cibicki omitted from all Leeds’ league games to date.
In short, Leeds took a gamble that has not paid off, and while signing players from abroad can work wonders – with the majestic Samu Saiz a perfect example – putting the vast majority of your goal-scoring hopes on players with no Championship experience can end in disaster.
There were plenty of exciting young forwards available this summer from Football League clubs that could have gone down a storm at Leeds, while Tammy Abraham proved last season that loan moves can work wonders with a little more thought and focus.
Leeds could still mount a serious promotion push this season and they certainly have the squad to make a fist of it. However, Chris Wood’s absence is being felt far more than Whites fans would have hoped at this stage of a faltering campaign.
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