Caleb Ekuban left Leeds United on loan during the summer, and has made an immediate impact for his new club.
It is easy to forget given that it took 14 games for him to get off the mark in the Championship, but Caleb Ekuban did open his Leeds account on his Whites debut, scoring in the 4-1 win over Port Vale in the Carabao Cup just over a year ago.
It was a frustrating first year at Elland Road for the striker. Injury meant that he managed to make just seven appearances before February, and his form prompted many supporters to urge the club to move him on during the summer.
The high point – a goal in the 2-1 win against Bolton Wanderers in March – was not capitalised upon and Ekuban missed plenty of opportunities during the latter weeks of the season when Paul Heckingbottom showed a tremendous amount of faith in him.
His loan move to Trabzonspor in the summer did not lead to disappointment – in his absence, Kemar Roofe has already scored four times in the league this season – but perhaps he may be about to prove something of a point to his parent club in the coming year.
Ekuban would have been hoping that he would get the chance to make his debut for the Turkish side in Saturday’s clash with Galatasaray. He did not start the game, but did get brought on with four minutes remaining.
At the time, Trabzonspor were 3-0 up and cruising to the three points. And Ekuban would be the man to put the icing on the cake as he volleyed home the fourth goal from close range.
It was a neat finish and the fact it came against the team it came against may well make the goal even sweeter for Leeds fans given the history between the two sides.
It is going to take a lot more for Ekuban to force his way back into his parent club’s plans, but there can be no doubt at all that the striker has made the dream start to life out on loan. And he has perhaps never been more popular amongst the Leeds supporters than he may be right now.
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