Jay-Roy Grot’s surprise form could be timely as Leeds struggle

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Jay-Roy Grot has enjoyed an excellent run of form while Leeds United toil in their push for promotion out of the Championship.

It is quite telling that after Leeds’ back-to-back defeats over the Easter weekend when the supporters were discussing the decisions made throughout the campaign that may have proved costly, the call to loan out Jay-Roy Grot last summer did not seem to be mentioned at all.

Grot endured an incredibly tough first year at Elland Road. His cause was not helped by the fact that he arrived in the days following Chris Wood’s exit, but his performances suggested that the £750,000 signing (via Yorkshire Evening Post) was nowhere near ready to lead the line for a side hoping to battle for promotion out of the Championship.

Plenty seem to have their doubts as to whether he will reach that level during his career. His loan switch to VVV-Venlo in the summer caught no-one off guard and it would surprise some fans if he played for Leeds again in the future.

Unfortunately for the 21-year-old, his time back in the Netherlands had hardly captured the imagination as he went into the league clash with Fortuna Sittard earlier this month having scored just three times in the league.

But he not only scored on that day, but he has also found the back of the net in the following two fixtures to double his tally in the space of three games.

Meanwhile, Leeds appear to have squandered their chance at securing automatic-promotion out of the Championship. It is still mathematically possible, but Sheffield United surely need to win just one of their last two games to get across the line as the Blades boast a significantly better goal difference.

Leeds’ defence made a number of uncharacteristic errors in the defeats to Wigan and Brentford. But taking their chances at the other end of the pitch has proved to be just as much of a problem.

Marcelo Bielsa will not be ruing letting the youngster leave in the summer. Patrick Bamford and Kemar Roofe have been outstanding for much of the season and simply appear to have largely gone off the boil at exactly the same time.

But Grot’s form may receive a little more attention from the fans, and perhaps the club, because he is performing at a time when the Whites are struggling to put the ball into the back of the net.

It is still looking set to be a huge uphill battle for Grot to work his way back into the picture at Elland Road – particularly if Leeds still manage to make it to the Premier League this season – but given that his upturn in form has come as a time when the Whites are not producing the goals they need, perhaps he still has an outside chance of getting another opportunity to fight for his place when he returns in the summer.