Aapo Halme only had nine minutes to impress for Leeds United on Saturday, but impress he did.
Leeds United centre-back Aapo Halme is winning hearts and fans at a rapid rate.
The 20-year-old defender was only given a nine-minute cameo in Saturday’s 2-1 win over QPR, but he played a very important nonetheless.
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa threw Halme – who stands at 6’5 – into the action on 81 minutes after Steve McClaren introduced 6’6 striker Matt Smith.
But the Finland Under-21 international expertly dealt with the threat of Smith at a time when the Londoners looked like potentially returning down South with a point.
It was an excellent performance under plenty of pressure, and here’s how some fans of the Elland Road reacted to the youngster’s commanding display.
Halme, who now has three Championship games under his belt, joined Leeds from HJK Helsinki in January but only made his senior debut last month, after injuries derailed his start to life in West Yorkshire.
He was always supposed to go straight into the Whites’ Under-23 side anyway, but his performances of recent weeks indicate that he was too good for youth level.
Bielsa’s side sit second in the Championship with a five-point cushion in the automatic promotion places.
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