After a promising start to their new season under the stewardship of Thomas Christiansen, Leeds United have been cracking up of late in the Championship. The Whites were beaten by Reading on Saturday at the Elland Road, with Modou Barrow clinching the only goal of the game and having lost three games on trot, it goes without saying that Christiansen is under a lot of pressure at the moment.
Their previous manager Garry Monk shepherded Leeds United’s players pretty well last season but couldn’t bag a playoff spot with his troops. However, Monk cultivated the pedestal and considering the same, anything short of a top-six finish would be an unwarranted output for the Yorkshire based outfit. They are apparently placed 12th spot in the league table with 20 points after 12 games and certainly have questions to answer in the upcoming fixtures.
Prior to their loss against the Royals, it was reported that striker Caleb Ekuban was recovering from his injury and was close to a return to the first-team squad.
Ekuban was signed during the summer transfer window from Chievo Verona but picked up an injury in Leeds United’s win over Sunderland earlier this season in what was his first league start for his new employers. Finding the back of the net has been difficult for the Peacocks of late and Ekuban’s return holds paramount importance.
Ekuban emerged through the youth ranks of Chievo Verona and despite having failed to cement a place in their senior side, he kept making promising impressions during his loan spells. He smashed 17 goals when he was on loan at Partizani Tirana from the 34 outings he was handed during the 2016-17 season, which tempted Leeds United to make him sign on the dotted line for an undisclosed fee.
The 22-year-old is known for his credentials as an out-and-out striker, although he is capable enough to ply his trade on the right wing as well as the secondary striker. He times his runs well and his movements are appealing to watch.
He has raw pace in his legs and without any shadow of a doubt, his availability would render Christiansen an exciting option from the bench to rattle the tiring defenders of the opposition.
Leeds United need to regroup themselves and start carving favourable results to take themselves into a commanding position The recent catastrophes which they have suffered have exposed their loopholes and in a scenario like this, someone like Ekuban could play a pivotal role in bringing his side’s campaign back on track.
