Complete Round-up Of Leeds Uniteds 2010 Transfer Activity
Two in, two out was the final days transfer trading for Leeds United as Ramon Nunez and Adam Clayton sealed deals at Elland Road, with Alan Sheehan and Lubomir Michalik heading off to pastures new.
Overall, Leeds have signed a total of eleven new players over the summer, all of which are listed below.
*All Leeds United’s transfers have been ‘undisclosed fees’ so the figures used are estimates from other sources or guess-work on my part.
The early concerns when the 2009/10 season ended was who would replace Jermaine Beckford after his move to Everton was confirmed? Over the last few weeks however, Simon Grayson has given us a dizzying array of goalscoring options and left us looking like one of the most dangerous teams in the league.
Luciano Becchio has started the season firing on all cylinders, whilst new additions Ross McCormack and Billy Paynter give us some proven goalscoring options. Add to that the emergence of Davide Somma as a real candidate to the starting XI, and you start to wonder what all the fuss was about?
Even more threatening are the two wide-men, Sanchez Watt and Lloyd Sam, who both have pace to burn and can go round a player with ease. It’s been a long time since Leeds United looked this threatening going forward, but Simon Grayson has really delivered in an attacking sense and we continue to produce goals from all areas of the pitch.
Whilst the attacking options look good, the defence is an entirely different story. Neill Collins has been the only good addition in this area, giving pretty consistent performances in all his games so far. The two full-backs, Federico Bessone and Paul Connolly however, haven’t impressed and with Richard Naylor somehow holding down a first team place, our defence would appear to have more holes in it than the German Bismarck.
A lot has been said about the need for a holding midfielder, but for me, that’s simply papering over the cracks. The real issue is the defence, and what we need is a centre-back with some pace – but maybe the addition of Alex Bruce will solve that?
Overall, the additions have been pretty good from Grayson. The defence has it’s flaws, but it could just be a gelling process that will sort itself with time? In the meantime, the best signing of this summer has been keeping us in it.
Son-of-Scum, Kasper Schmeichel has been an absolute revelation since his surprise unveiling early-doors. His command of the area, handling skills and impressive shot-stopping ability instantly impressed the Leeds United faithful, and the keeper could prove to be the difference between the play-offs and an instantly forgettable season.
With so many players added to the squad, naturally, some had to leave – below is a full list of the players that have left Elland Road;
In total, twelve players have left Elland Road this summer with five of them on loan elsewhere. Obviously, the biggest loss was Jermaine Beckford, but as we’ve already seen, Simon Grayson has done an excellent job of sorting our attacking options out.
It’s good to see the youngsters, Darville, Elliot, Lee and Martin getting some valuable first-team experience elsewhere, although Simon Grayson’s record so far doesn’t suggest we’re ever going to see them in a Leeds United shirt.
With Aidy White and Ben Parker out injured, I think releasing Alan Sheehan was a mistake. I remain hopeful that it’s just a gelling process for Fede Bessone, but he’s hardly set the world alight with his performances so far andwhilst Sheehan was never the best left-back, he was a
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