When Garry Monk shocked Leeds United at the end of last season by resigning from his job, it brought into the picture a certain Thomas Christiansen. Christiansen guided Apoel Nicosia of Cyprus to the last 16 of the Europa League and to Cypriot first division title last season before taking over at Leeds.
When Christiansen walked into the club, the board was hoping to see the positive effect of having a foreign manager, in a manner somewhat similar to what David Wagner or Marco Silva has had at Huddersfield Town and Hull City last season.
Leeds got off to a flying start to their new season. Fast flowing football that was easy on the eye and a defence that since the opening game at Bolton had conceded three goals in eight games meant that Leeds could not have hoped for a better start. The Leeds machine, however, began to show signs of crack as the league progressed and they now stand eleventh in the table after 13 defeats in 31 games. It led to the sacking of their manager but his departure did little to turn around the club’s fortune
Doubts are clouding over the club and the atmosphere at Leeds right now is grave. Several post-mortem reports of the club’s defeats have speculated about various aspects that the club needs to get right. One clear need for a position of reinforcement is that of a striker.
With Caleb Ekuban just returning from his time on the sidelines, Samuel Sáiz suffering from some serious disciplinary issues, Pierre-Michel Lasogga has been one of the better performers up front. Although the bulk of the scoring responsibility has been done by Kemar Roofe, Lasogga has been excellent as well
With the player’s future in the club still in doubt, Leeds fans will want to see him signed permanently from Hamburg SV. If Leeds fail to do so, the striker will return to Germany at the end of the season. He, however, is focused on helping Leeds this season.
I want to make it into the playoffs with Leeds – this club belongs in the Premier League,” said Lasogga. “I’m not worried about that yet. Finally, I have one more year contract in Hamburg and I wish HSV to stay in the Bundesliga,” he added.
However, with playoff hopes rapidly disappearing, Leeds will be preparing for another assault next season and will want to keep their hitman in the team.
