Can the Leeds United head coach give Marcus Antonsson a second wind?
Before Thomas Christiansen joined APOEL Nicosia in May 2016, Pieros Sotiriou had netted 14 goals in 41 league appearances for the Cypriot club. When he left last month, the 24-year-old striker’s record was 35 goals in 73 outings.
Sotiriou netted 21 times in 31 league matches under Christiansen last season – as well as scoring five goals in Europe – and it is clear that Leeds United’s new head coach helped to improve the hitman quite a bit.
Can the 44-year-old work the same magic on out-of-form Leeds forward Marcus Antonsson?
The Swedish striker joined the Whites for £1.2 million last summer (via BBC Sport) but one goal in 578 minutes of Championship football might suggest that the 26-year-old is quite a bit away from being a success story at Elland Road.
He was effectively frozen out of the first-team squad by former manager Garry Monk in the second half of last season, leading to suggestions that the 38-year-old would move on the ex-Kalmar marksman during the summer.
But Christiansen’s arrival might just give Antonsson a second wind and perhaps the former Spain international – a striker himself during his playing days – can help breathe new life into what looked to be a dying career at Elland Road.
Of course, it is harder to score goals in the Championship than it is in Cyprus, but it is all relative and Sotiriou’s improvement illustrates that Christiansen might know how to get the best out of a number nine.
It would take a phenomenal amount of improving in order to displace Chris Wood as Leeds’ first-choice striker after hitting 30 goals last season, but if Antonsson at least proves himself a reliable back-up option in the goalscoring stakes then he will have already come a long way under the new boss.
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