Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United are in danger of throwing away their Premier League prospects due to a maddening inability to hit the back of the net.
It often sounds a little too obvious to suggest that a team is one lethal finisher away from achieving their ambitions. But, in the curious case of Leeds United, it may be that the most simplistic explanation is also the correct one.
On Saturday afternoon at a rain-flecked Elland Road, Marcelo Bielsa’s side ripped promotion rivals Bristol City apart, almost at will. But, by the time the fourth official announced four minutes of stoppage time, a wave of nervous energy ripped through this iconic old ground.
Leeds, for all their domination, were just one goal to the good, wasting chance after chance to put the game to bed. Fortunately, a poor Bristol City side never possessed the cutting edge to make them pay – but plenty of Championship sides have left Elland Road with a scarcely-deserved point to their name in recent months after seeing Patrick Bamford, Jack Harrison, Helder Costa and co fluff their lines.
So if Leeds fans were hoping that Cyle Larin represents the long-awaited final piece of the Bielsa jigsaw, they should look away now.
According to Fotospor, Besiktas’s Canadian international centre-forward is a £3.5 million summer target for the West Yorkshire giants, with Larin having first registered on Victor Orta’s radar some three years ago (The Sun).
But his record in recent weeks makes Bamford, Leeds’ much-maligned number nine, look as dead-eyed and icey-veined as Cristiano Ronaldo. A player former Orlando City team-mate Kaka once tipped for greatness has failed to score in any of his last nine games on loan at Belgian outfit Zulte Waregam.
In total, Larin has found the net just 12 times in 42 league matches since making the move across the Atlantic in 2017.
Elland Road is crying out for a new Mark Viduka, a ruthless successor to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. A Jemaine Beckford 2.0 even. Larin, however, hardly looks like the man for the job.
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