After a slow start to the season saw two draws picked up against Portsmouth and West Bromwich Albion, alongside a humbling 3-0 defeat in the EFL Cup to Middlesbrough, Leeds United finally got their 24/25 campaign underway with a 2-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday last time out.
The Championship promotion hopefuls will pray there are no more major missteps ahead, as they aim to finish near the top of the division, and secure a return to the Premier League after last season's agonising near miss.
Largie Ramazani and Manor Solomon are likely to be at Daniel Farke's disposal for upcoming second tier games, as Ramazani sat out the victory at Hillsborough and Solomon is soon to be announced, with a growing possibility that another attacker could also enter the building alongside the new duo before the close of the month.
Leeds working on signing Georginio Rutter replacement
As per an exclusive report from Football Insider, Leeds are eyeing up the services of Queens Park Rangers gem Ilias Chair, as they go about further strengthening their attacking positions.
With Solomon and Ramazani adequately bolstering the second tier side down the wings, the number ten spot is now a position of priority to add numbers to, considering Georginio Rutter's departure is yet to be addressed with any new faces in through the door.
That's where Chair could potentially come to the rescue, with Football Insider revealing that the West Yorkshire side are set to test QPR's resolve surrounding their Moroccan gem, with his contract now into its final year at Loftus Road.
Chair could fill the hole left behind by the Frenchman packing his bags for Brighton and Hove Albion, as he is known in Hoops quarters to be a tricky menace on the ball for Championship defences to contain, much like Rutter used to be for the Whites.
What Chair can offer Leeds
Leeds fans will be all too aware of Chair's ability to conjure up a moment of magic from nothing, having scored this sublime solo strike last season against Farke's downtrodden troops, on the way to a miserable 4-0 defeat being inflicted on the promotion chasers.
Away from that sickening sucker punch, however, Chair could soon be scoring sumptuous goals like this on a regular basis for Leeds if he is snapped up soon, with the Hoops number ten bagging 34 strikes across 217 second tier games to date in West London, alongside registering 34 assists.
Stat – per 90 mins*
Chair
Games played
44
Goals scored
7
Assists
8
Shots*
2.6
Big chances missed
2
Big chances created
11
Ball recoveries*
5.4
Total duels won*
4.0
Stats by Sofascore
As can be seen, looking at the table above, the QPR star was a lively attacker for many a Championship defence to contain last campaign, with seven goals and eight assists managed from 44 games.
Creating 11 big chances across the full season too, with Rutter creating double that remarkably, the "terrific" attacking midfielder – as he has been described by his boss Marti Cifuentes – could come into his own even more playing for a team fighting for promotion up near the top of the division, as opposed to ensuring they remain afloat in the league.
Chair could end up striking up a terrifying partnership with Manor Solomon in attack, therefore, who will be excited at the potential prospect of linking up with the EFL wizard.
Solomon needs a confidence-boosting season to come at Elland Road after having injury issues dominate his playing days of late, and might well find that he's even more devastating going forward dropping down a division with Chair next to him, having picked up four goals and two assists from only 24 games in Premier League action when fit and firing.
Bagging his own sensational screamer against Leeds in the FA Cup last year, both could make Leeds an even more stunning team to watch in attack, and would make Rutter moving on firmly a thing of the past.
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ByKelan SarsonAug 25, 2024