Lucas Radebe thinks Leeds will ‘expect a lot’ from new signing despite one issue

Follow us on Google Discover

Lucas Radebe thinks that Leeds United will ‘expect a lot’ from new signing Rodrigo even though he is ‘not a prolific striker’, as he told BBC Radio 5 Live (09/09/20 at 7:50 pm).

Leeds paid big-money for Rodrigo’s services this summer and he will be looking to challenge Patrick Bamford for that number one starting spot ahead of their Premier League opener.

Last season, Rodrigo, who is also a Spain international, netted four goals from 27 La Liga matches for Valencia, but he did provide an impressive nine assists despite playing most of those games as a centre-forward [transfermarkt].

Radebe will be well aware of how heavy that Leeds shirt can toil on you, as he shared his thoughts on Rodrigo ahead of their Premier League return, which starts at the weekend.

“I think having Rodrigo, £27 million signing, I think we expect a lot from him even if we know that he’s not a prolific striker,” Radebe told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“But he suits the game that Bielsa plays in terms of exploring the spaces and bursting into the opposition goals, which I think is important.

“I think a lot is going to be expected on him for scoring goals because that’s where we have been really consistent in winning goals. Once you play in this league, that’s what you do, you score goals and I think we will expect him, at least, to be among the goalscorers at the end of the season.”

Bamford had his issues last season, or even since he walked through the doors of Elland Road, of not scoring the volume of goals the fans would have liked.

Bielsa’s side created a lot of clear-cut chances for the Englishman, and even he will acknowledge that he missed a fair chunk of them.

But a big reason behind why Bielsa continued to pick him was because of his work rate, his ability to press the opposition with real intent and intelligence, and also hold up the ball with purpose by bringing his forward-thinking teammates into the game.