Leeds United tasted their first defeat of the Championship as they lost to Swansea City. However, one cannot say that the Whites performed badly in that game as Swansea performed a classic smash and grab job at Elland Road. The Whites meanwhile had an okayish transfer window as they brought in exciting talents like Helder Costa, Eddie Nketiah and Ben White but they also let go off some of their crucial players in Kemar Roofe and Pontus Jansson.
Which player United missed out on this summer?
One player they could have signed was Celtic’s new signing Mohamed Elyounoussi. Reports from Norwegian media outlet VG suggests that the Whites, along with Middlesbrough, were interested in getting him on loan from Southampton, but the player rejected that move.
The left-winger played 16 games in the Premier League last season, but Ralph Hasenhüttl decided to ship him away on a season-long loan to Celtic. Elyounoussi also admitted that he had offers from other clubs earlier as he said, ”I don’t want to talk about any other clubs, but I was happy when it got done. There were other clubs in for me, but I felt like Celtic was the right choice. The club, size of the club and the way they play football too.”
Would he have been a good signing for the Whites?
Leeds United were in the mix to sign Liverpool’s Ryan Kent, and he too would have been an option on the left flank. With the club being interested in Kent and Elyounoussi, it suggests that Bielsa might not be too convinced with Jack Harrison, who usually starts in that position. The Manchester City player has improved in the last year, but there are still some fine tunings needed to his game and especially his decision making in the final third.
Elyounoussi meanwhile had an impressive 2017-18 campaign with FC Basel where he contributed with 13 goals and 17 assists in all competitions. Even in the eight games in the Champions League, the Norwegian international contributed with two goals and two assists. His impressive season earned him a move to Southampton.
We think that the Norwegian would have been a more effective and clinical option in the final third for Bielsa. Once he would have settled in, the 25-year-old could have been an upgrade over Harrison.
Bielsa hasn’t used Jack Clarke much, and that suggests that the club could have done with a winger like Elyounoussi in their roster. However, the Whites still should have enough firepower to move up a division and the club would hope that they don’t regret missing out on this Norwegian talent.
