A draw against Ipswich Town might not have hurt their credentials of being a prospective playoff contender in the 2016-17 Sky Bet Championship, but the tendency of taking things for granted is slowly creeping inside the Leeds United roster. Garry Monk and his comrades have indeed done a superb job in holding their stature but with the competition around the corner, the Peacocks would need every member of their squad to deliver. Out of what they have in their ranks, here are three players who must rise to the occasion and bail Leeds United out of their sluggish form.
Alfonso Pedraza
Leeds United made a late dash in the transfer window that just transpired as they plucked Alfonso Pedraza from the reserves of La Liga outfit Villarreal. The 20-year-old might have only made a loan move to the Elland Road but maybe forced to make the deal a permanent one owing to the availability of an option for the same in the contract.
Predominantly a left winger, Pedraza’s two appearances including an impressive cameo against Huddersfield Town has made him the talk of the town but he has to be in a fine nick until the end of the season by upping the ante, considering that the Whites would want him to fire on a consistent basis to keep the momentum going.
Hadi Sacko
The case of Hadi Sacko is a rather curious one, for one day you’d see him in complete shambles, running around like an aimless attacker and being blatantly blunt and contributing next to nothing to Leeds United’s pursuits.
But when he is on song, like he was against Ipswich Town, he gave his all as an influential driver who went for a head-on clash with Mick McCarthy’s side by being agile, threatened with pace prowess, was sharp with his movements on and off the ball and toiled relentlessly and let’s not forget to mention that he played a key role in Leeds United’s equaliser. Nonetheless, Sacko still has miles to cover and has to contribute heavily in the business end of this season.
Souleymane Doukara
Speaking in an unabashed and unbiased fashion, it is indeed worthy of being noted that Chris Wood has been catering to the Whites’ goal-scoring needs single-handedly (almost), with very little support coming to him from the rest of the side. Considering the gravity of the coming crunch fixtures, someone like Souleymane Doukara must step up to shoulder the responsibilities.
In 21 appearances this term, he has plundered 5 goals, created 15 chances and has registered 1 assist and no wonder he has left a lot to be desired. He has all the ingredients of a prolific attacker, and the stage is set for him to do enough which would earn him a new contract after the conclusion of this season.
Statistics Credits: Squawka.
