Samu Saiz has certainly shone at Leeds United – but he’s got a long way to go before he becomes the world’s most expensive footballer.
It’s a credit to Samu Saiz that he has emerged out of a disastrous Leeds United run with his reputation arguably enhanced.
The Spanish schemer has been a lone bright spark in an otherwise horrible eight game spell which has seen The Whites lose seven times in all competitions.
Whether this justifies Spanish daily Marca comparing Saiz to the world’s most expensive footballer, however, is another matter entirely.
The paper has gone as far as to describe Saiz as ‘the Neymar of Leeds’ – which is all the more remarkable when you consider that he cost the Yorkshire giants precisely £197 million less than Paris Saint-Germain paid for the Brazil superstar in the summer.
The Neymar of Leeds
Though, pound for pound, Saiz has been as influential at Elland Road as Neymar has been at the Parc des Princes since he walked out on Barcelona.
A clinical hat-trick on his debut against Port Vale in the EFL Cup was one way to announce himself – and while Saiz has not exactly maintained that 300 per cent scoring rate, a tally of four goals and three assists in 14 league starts doesn’t even begin to explain just how influential he has been in his favoured number ten position.
Since arriving from Spanish second tier side Huesca, Saiz has evolved into arguably the most eye-catching attacking player in the entirety of the Championship.
Every little shimmy, every moment of bare faced skill has Leeds supporters exploding into song – perhaps those comparisons with Neymar aren’t too outlandish after all.
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