From being serial underperformers to promotion hopefuls in the ongoing campaign in the Sky Bet Championship, Leeds United’s journey back into the scheme of things with respect to the promotion to the Premier League has indeed been a topsy-turvy one.
The Whites were engulfed in the doldrums and mediocrity but under the tutelage of their new gaffer, Garry Monk, they have swatted away their off-coloured form away and are well on course to clinch a playoff spot at the end of the season.
The Whites still have miles of grounds to cover before getting branded as Premier League quality. Monk seems likely to be trusted with the role of steering the ship of the Elland Road-based club next season as well and thus, he must start to look for the gettable targets which he can lure under his ranks in the summer transfer window.
With the evident likelihood of Leeds United getting back to the Premier League coupled with Middlesbrough’s anticipated demotion to the second tier of English football, the former Swansea City manager can very well get hold of the Smoggies’ midfielder, Adam Clayton.
Clayton has been an irreplaceable element in the Boro line-up, as he has already registered 24 appearances for them so far in the Premier League. Although he hasn’t found the back of the net even once, he has created 13 chances and bagged 1 assist.
Nonetheless, it has been his defensive contributions which have caught the eye, for he has piled 2.3 tackles, 1.6 interceptions, 1.3 clearances and 0.8 blocks per game on an average with a healthy pass accuracy of 87.3% and no wonder he has been widely acknowledged as one of the finest performers for the Riverside Stadium based outfit.
While the Peacocks are in hot pursuit to assemble a core team for the future, the 28-year-old would be an ideal signing for a rising club like them. Clayton is someone who can ply his trade in the central midfield zone, as a box-to-box midfielder as well as a no. 10, and more than anything else, he offers consistency which the likes of Ronaldo Vieira, Eunan O’Kane and Liam Bridcutt have failed to do.
The Englishman had played for Leeds United in the past and knows how things work back there. Should Monk aim for him and get him in the summer, he would certainly be one of the first names to be slotted on his starting line-up week in and week out.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored
