Sunderland may be going down from the Championship, but Leeds United should take a look at one of their few impressive players.
After a season which has seen Leeds slide down the table quite dramatically, it may be difficult for the likes of Victor Orta and Paul Heckingbottom to argue that going after a Sunderland player this summer would be a smart move with the Black Cats looking destined for the third tier as things stand.
But given some of Sunderland’s last few results, perhaps there is one member of Chris Coleman’s team that should be on Leeds’ radar given how impressive he has been as well as the gaps that currently exist in the Whites squad.
Paddy McNair has been missing for much of the season due to injury, and his recent form must leave Sunderland supporters wondering what could have been as he has been very impressive in the middle of the park to give the strugglers a glimmer of hope.
Though he has predominantly played in the middle of the park this season, he came through the ranks as a defender. And with Heckingbottom and Orta surely asking for trouble if they do not strengthen in those areas of the field, signing someone with the 22-year-old’s versatility could be a very smart move.
He has also shown – to Leeds’ cost – that he is capable of scoring goals. In the Black Cats’ last two games, he has pulled off two wonderful strikes, with his thunderbolt at Elland Road being followed by an even better finish from some distance in the draw with Reading at the weekend. In 13 games, he has scored more goals than all of Leeds’ central midfielders with the exception of Kalvin Phillips, while Samuel Saiz has only scored two more league goals than the Northern Ireland international.
And with McNair young enough to improve further in the coming years, Heckingbottom should certainly take a look at the Sunderland ace at the end of the season as Leeds look to learn from the recruitment mistakes that have been made this season.
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