Leeds United ended the January window with a bang after sealing the marquee arrival of Juventus midfielder, Weston McKennie on an initial loan deal, with the signing of the United States international capping what was a fine month of business for the Whites on the whole.
For all the plaudits that Jesse Marsch and co will rightly receive for their astute dealings in recent weeks, one area that the Premier League outfit were unable to bolster is at left-back, with that position having been rather ‘troublesome‘ of late – as per The Athletic’s Phil Hay.
The Yorkshire side notably brought in Junior Firpo on a £12.8m deal from Barcelona in the summer of 2021 with the hope of securing a long-term option at full-back, although the 26-year-old has gone on to endure an underwhelming stint since then, having been plagued by injury in recent times.
Even when he has featured the one-time Real Betis ace has struggled to truly impress thus far, having scored just once and provided only three assists in 34 games in all competitions to date, while his average match rating of 6.33, as per Sofascore, is the worst of any of his teammates this season in the league.
With Marsch in need of a more reliable option in that role, the club did wrap up a deal for Red Bull Salzburg star Max Wober, albeit with it looking as if the towering Austrian is more likely to feature in a left-sided centre-back berth.
With the window now closed, Leeds may then need to look into the youth ranks in order to find an up-and-coming starlet who can fix the club’s transfer mistake, with 18-year-old Keenan Carole once such gem who could well be deserving of a chance to shine.
The teenage Frenchman – whose father Seb Carole also previously played for the club in the mid-2000s – has typically operated as a winger at youth level, although has also shown signs that he can flourish at full-back.
That is the verdict of U21’s boss Michael Skubala, who stated back in August: “We know him more as a winger. I think that from my experience of youth development with players, they often start as a winger but a lot of wingers end up at full-back.
“In the modern game, for me, a lot of full-backs are wingers when you have the ball. I think you have to be defensively strong and strong when attacking. We know Keenan is good high and we’re working on him as a full-back at the minute, but in the modern game you have to be a winger and a full-back.
“It’s not as easy as magnets on a tactics board anymore. Does it have to be so fixed? I don’t know. Maybe playing as a left-back just helps him with his defensive development.”
The youngster has gone on to typically feature in that role so far this season, having made five appearances for the Yorkshire side at Premier League 2 level, albeit while having been inhibited due to injury.
The exciting sensation is clearly a player who is highly thought of at Elland Road, having only recently signed a two-year, professional deal with the club during the summer, after previously providing five goals and ten assists in 50 games for the U18 side.
A youngster of real “high potential” – according to his father – Carole could well be one to keep an eye on in the remainder of the campaign.
from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/zyJIHdj
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