The 25-year-old’s consistency has been immense for Leeds of late.
Considering Leeds United’s recent off-field troubles, any on-field consistency is much appreciated at Elland Road right now.
Saturday afternoon’s 3-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers didn’t quite produce that consistency but it was understandable with the week the Yorkshire club had suffered.
Against the odds, one Leeds star did, however, and has been performing for Neil Redfearn’s side for quite some time.
Yes, while it’s the youngsters that take the credit at Elland Road – Sam Byram, Alex Mowatt, Lewis Cook etc – Luke Murphy has been vital for Leeds since January. And he delivered again v Blackburn.
| Accurate Passes | Touches | Final-Third Passes | Final-Third Entries | Tackles | Minutes Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Murphy | 37 | 61 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 90 |
| Sam Byram | 35 | 58 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 90 |
| Alex Mowatt | 34 | 56 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 90 |
| Scott Wootton | 27 | 51 | 15 | 9 | 1 | 66 |
As Opta stats show, Byram impressed for the Yorkshire side – but it was Murphy that ran the show in several key areas.
The 25-year-old completed more passes, took more touches, won the most tackles and made the most final-third entries of any Leeds player. Bar Byram, he also completed the most passes in the final third.
It was another accomplished performance from the midfielder, then, more of an unsung hero at Elland Road than many of the side’s more-talked-about young players.
If the club as a whole showed the kind of solidity and stability Murphy has done this year, things would be completely different at Leeds.
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