Leeds United well placed to handle Jay-Roy Grot’s Elland Road adaptation

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Leeds United Jay-Roy Grot was given his first taste of English football against Forest – but he’ll be under no pressure to step up straight away.

Neil Redfearn had a point when he described Leeds United’s most under-the-radar summer signing, Jay-Roy Grot, as ‘something different’, as reported by Radio Yorkshire.

The 19-year-old arrived late in the transfer window from NEC Nijmegen for an initial fee of £750,000 (Yorkshire Post) and came off the bench for the final 20 minutes in Leeds’ 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest last weekend. However, it’s fair to say Grot is hardly the most archetypal wideman in an era where the chalk lines tend to be populated with diminutive, impish creators rather than powerful, rangy athletes.

It doesn’t take long to realise where Redfearn is coming from. Yet, although Grot is clearly a raw talent with plenty of rough edges, he has the ability to become a fearsome attacker under Thomas Christiansen – provided he manages to fulfil his potential at Elland Road, that is.

That cameo appearance at the City Ground was only the 36^th league appearance of Grot’s embryonic career but there was more than enough to get excited about. However, Leeds fans should not expect to see the teenager thrust into the limelight and forced to perform on a weekly basis.

Right place?

Leeds are in an excellent position to expose Grot to the demands of first-team Championship football on a gradual basis.

After all, they have plenty of options in the final third this season with Ezgjan Alioski (below) and Samu Saiz starting the season in fine form, Kemar Roofe rediscovering his golden touch while Stuart Dallas, Pablo Hernandez and Hadi Sacko have remained in West Yorkshire.

Furthermore, new manager Thomas Christiansen appears to understand the difficulty of adapting to a new league. While Alioski and Saiz are already crucial first-team members, Mateusz Klich, Caleb Ekuban and Madger Gomes have been allowed to ease into a new environment at their own pace.

And Leeds are a club who know how to help young players realise their potential, the likes of Sam Byram, Lewis Cook and Ronaldo Vieira all emerging through their esteemed academy in recent years.

Grot is an exciting yet inexperienced player and Leeds must handle his development carefully. But the odd cameo here and there, like against Forest, looks like the right way to go.