Leeds United have struggled this season so far. After sacking club icon Marcelo Bielsa in February, the fans were not happy. When new manager Jesse Marsch came into the club, the mood did not change throughout the fan base. However, Leeds have seen improved performances since the American took the helm. Two wins from four games, including an incredible comeback against Wolves, has given Leeds much-needed breathing room at the bottom of the Premier League table. But, if Leeds stay in the Premier League next season, they will need to improve the squad. Injuries to Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Phillips, and Liam Cooper have shown Leeds squad depth problems. This data analysis will look at the statistics to find players that will improve Leeds squad.
Central Midfielder
As mentioned before, Leeds have poorly suffered in Kalvin Phillips absence. In Phillips 12 Premier League appearances this season, Leeds have won 25% of their games, drawn 50% and lost 25%. Plus, they conceded 15 and scored 13 goals. The only match Leeds lost by more than one goal was when they played Liverpool, which ended 3-0 to Jurgen Klopps side. But, when Phillips was absent, Leeds became a much worse side. In the 18 games so far, Leeds won four games (22%), drawn two (11%) and lost 12 (67%). Leeds scored 21 times during this period. Most shockingly, the goals conceded skyrocketed to 52, 2.9 per match. Out of those 12 losses, seven were lost by more than one goal showing us that Phillips helped keep Leeds in games.
Kalvin Phillips brief data analysis
All statistics and data attributed to Kalvin Phillips relate to his 2020/21 Premier League season.
Phillips was fantastic at getting stuck into a defensive duel. He had the third-most defensive duels in the Leeds squad with 303 (Stuart Dallas 319 and Luke Ayling 371) and the fourth most in the Premier League. Having three of the top four players for defensive duels made it hard for opposition teams to keep the ball as Leeds constantly harassed the opposition. Therefore, the counter-attack could commence more often, a fruitful avenue for Leeds last season.
Phillips also completed the most recoveries in the opposition half out of all Leeds midfielders last season with 293. Phillips also had a great reading off the game with 154 interceptions. He can break the play up in the opposition half, which Marcelo Bielsa, the previous Leeds United manager, wanted from his midfield.
Phillips had the most long balls from any Leeds midfielder last season (186) and the best success rate from the Leeds midfield (64%). This passing range was vital to how Bielsa wanted to play as he demanded quick transitions and long balls allow this to happen. Phillips could also keep possession when needed. Again, he leads another passing category for Leeds United midfielders: backwards passes (186) and its success rate (96.7%).
Phillps was great because of his passing range, defensive abilities and the constant pressure he exuded onto the opposition. Who could help fill those shoes and be able to play alongside Phillips in the future?
Djibril Sows defensive abilities
All statistics and data attributed to Djibril Sow relate to his Bundesliga season.
Eintracht Frankfurt are in 8th place in the Bundesliga this season, six points behind the Europa Conference League position. One of the shining lights throughout their campaign has been Djibril Sow. This season, the Swiss footballer has been influential in their campaign, having played 25 out of the 27 Bundesliga matches.
Sow has been a rock defensively. With the 4th most duels for players under 25-years-old (192), Sow likes to get into a challenge. Moreover, he wins his duels 62.5% of the time. This is significant when considering Adam Forshaws (155 and 58.1%) and Mateusz Klichs (169 and 51.5%) numbers in this area. Also, Sow has an excellent reading of the game as he has intercepted 129 passes, the most out of any Frankfurt player. Likewise, Sow can add pressure further up the pitch with his 234 recoveries in the oppositions half. His pressure would be a game-changer for Leeds United as Klich has only 44% of the interceptions of Sow with 71% of the minutes that the Swiss international has played.
In this example, Frankfurt are up by three goals with only 20 minutes to go in the match. Some players would not sprint back as they get complacent, but not Sow. He runs back and closes down the attacker. Then, he waits for the attacker to apply pressure to one foot so that Sow knows where the player will go. Finally, he uses his body and tackles perfectly, stopping the danger.
Sow has played in multiple formations this season, including three-man and two-man midfields. This experience will help Jesse Marsch as he may want to switch to his preferred 4-2-2-2 or keep his 4-2-3-1 formation. Being malleable will only help Sow.
Djibril Sows passing abilities
Now we know that Sow would be a great defensive asset into Marschs midfield, but what about his passing ability? After all, Kalvin Phillips has been a fantastic passer of the ball, and if he were to get injured again, Leeds would need a solid replacement. Well, Sow can be a tremendous deep-lying playmaker. With 79 long passes this season, Sow is no stranger to spraying the ball, and with a 59.5% success rate, he is pretty capable.
In this example, we see Sow scanning. Scanning is key in this situation as the r
