The Leeds United forward has been brilliant since he returned from injury.
There is a habit among football fans to forge great players out of average ones, with an injury absence often turning a half-decent option into the final piece of the jigsaw, if only he were fit.
But when it comes to Leeds United’s Caleb Ekuban, Whites supporters were absolutely right to crave the return of the summer signing despite barely seeing him prior to his poorly-timed broken foot.
In Ekuban’s prolonged absence, Leeds struggled, with loanee Pierre-Michel Lasogga looking poor despite a decent goal-return, his lack of movement failing to get the best out of Samu Saiz and Ezgjan Alioski.
For weeks, a section of Leeds supporters were counting down the days until Ekuban’s return, suggesting that the Ghanaian could be the one to get Thomas Christiansen’s side back on track.
The problem was, there had only been the briefest of glimpses to suggest Ekuban was indeed some kind of saviour, with a goal and an assist in an EFL Cup clash against Port Vale and a league appearance against Sunderland the sum total of his efforts.
Were Leeds fans wrong to be craving Ekuban’s return? Well, no, as it turns out, with the forward looking every inch a star in the making and giving the Whites a new lease of life heading into the festive fixtures.
It may not have worked, with Ekuban failing to live up to the hype. After all, he has only recently arrived in the country and is getting used to a new division and teammates he has barely kicked a competitive ball with.
But the fans were right: Ekuban is the missing piece of this particular jigsaw, and Leeds look all the better for it.
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