Leeds have made a number of astute temporary signings recently – a far cry from the baffling recruitment policy of recent seasons.
In recent seasons, if you were a young player desperately wanting to prove yourself away from the prying eyes of the Premier League, Elland Road probably wasn’t the best place to go. England internationals Ross Barkley, Andros Townsend and Jack Butland hardly foreshadowed their potential with the Yorkshire giants after all.
Therefore, The Sun’s claims that West Ham are willing to send young striker Ashley Fletcher to Leeds in order to further his development will surely invite a few disapproving glances.
These days, however, in no small thanks to Gary Monk, a short-lived stint at Elland Road is no longer a disaster waiting to happen. On occasions, it even guarantees success for all parties. Pontus Jansson, Kyle Bartley, Hadi Sacko, Pablo Hernandez; it’s a far cry from Adryan and Granddi N’Goyi.
But who could Fletcher aim to emulate in his six month stay at the promotion chasing Whites?
Rob Hulse
After being ousted out of West Brom, journeyman striker Hulse rocked up at Elland Road with a point to prove in 2005. And prove it he did. Emphatically so. After netting six goals in 13 appearances during the latter part of the 2004/05 season, Leeds snapped up the former Crewe graduate for just £1.1 million at the end of the season, per the BBC.
A return of 12 Championship strikes in the follow campaign spearheaded Leeds’ fifth placed finish, though a play-off defeat to Watford consigned them to another decade in the lower leagues.
Casper Ankergren
Hardly the most awe-inspiring signing on initial inspection, the former Brondby shot-stopper soon caught the eye of the Elland Road matchgoers with a string of matchwinning performances in his first spell in the English game. A couple of dramatic penalty saves didn’t do him much harm either.
Two and a half years after putting pen to paper on a permanent deal, Leeds’ very own Great Dane kept Manchester United at bay to clinch a famous FA Cup triumph at Old Trafford.
Max Gradel
Injury might have reduced Gradel’s debut campaign on the coasts of Bournemouth to a series of brief cameos but the Ivorian took pride and place in Leeds’ line-up between 2009 and 2011, winning both the Fans’ and the Players’ Player of the Year gongs at the end of his first season.
Finding the net on just his second appearance within minutes after coming off the bench against Yeovil, Leeds fans politely requested then-manager Simon Grayson to ‘sign him up’. He obliged, turning his initial loan deal from Leicester into a permanent transfer in January.
Pontus Jansson
A cult favourite in every sense. It’s not just his die-hard commitment and his infectious love for the club that has Leeds fans professing their adoration for the Swedish centre-back on forums, Twitter and via the medium of sublimely-crafted chants. It turns out he’s a pretty useful defender too, potentially Leeds’ finest since legendary captain Lucas Radebe.
Frozen out by Sinisa Mihajlovic at Torino, Jansson has made no secret his desire to plant his flag into the Elland Road turf long-term.
“I’m really happy to be here and Leeds have changed my football life again. I feel love for the sport,” Jansson told the Yorkshire Evening Post.
Kyle Bartley
There are two sides to Bartley’s ever-improving partnership with fans’ darling Jansson. On one side of the coin, the towering duo have come together to form arguably the league’s most imperious centre-half pairing. On the other, the consistently excellent displays of Bartley have rather slipped under the radar due to his team-mate’s tendency to, well, hog the headlines.
Nonetheless, Leeds pulled off an impressive coup then they snared the former Arsenal youngster from Swansea City in the summer. It’s no exaggeration to suggest he’d probably be the lynchpin of Bob Bradley’s backline right now.
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