Leeds United have now named former Watford head coach Javi Gracia as their next manager, with the 52-year-old taking over from Jesse Marsch at Elland Road.
It’s believed that the Spaniard has agreed to a ‘flexible’ contract that is initially until the end of the current campaign, tasked with the sole objective of keeping the west Yorkshire giants in the Premier League, according to The Guardian.
Having achieved a similar feat with the Hornets in the past, there is some logic behind the, perhaps controversial, appointment, for the time being.
At Vicarage Road, Gracia largely utilised a 4-4-2 formation to great effect and that’s something that he could look to replicate at the Whites, with them in dire need of scoring more chances and being more rigid defensively.
As a primarily pressing-based system, the current squad should be used to the energy and relentlessness of such demands but not everyone will be able to fit into this scheme.
At full-back, the Spaniard likes his players to get forward to provide width, which means the two wide midfielders are given a little more license to drift inside and roam freely.
This means there is no natural no.10, something that both Marsch and interim boss Michael Skulbala had utilised this season. It also means that summer signing Brenden Aaronson is in even greater danger of becoming a forgotten man already.
His form since his £25m arrival from RB Salzburg has somewhat fallen off a cliff.
Initially, the signs were promising as the USMNT international scored against Chelsea in his third-ever Premier League outing and then two games later, provided an assist to snatch a point against Everton.
Since those first five outings, though, the 22-year-old dynamo has suffered, registering only the one goal contribution in the subsequent 17 games, most of which being starts, via Transfermarkt.
One game against West Ham United, in which the attacking midfielder drew a 5.9 rating on Sofascore, saw him lambasted as “sloppy” by Sky Sports News pundit Jay Boothroyd [4th January, 20:51], whilst another 5.9 display, this time against Aston Villa, had Joe Donnohue highlighting his struggles.
Given the fact that the £45k-per-week is primarily a no.10, combined with his poor form this term, he could very much be in grave danger with Gracia now through the door at Thorp Arch.
AND in other news, Orta could finally replace Raphinha in Leeds summer swoop for £16m-rated “phenomenon”…
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