Lukas Nmecha scored on his debut to secure a “massive” win for Leeds, but this was also definitely a game which gives Daniel Farke ammo to push for his new striker.
Leeds and Farke have made an unapologetically blatant push this summer to improve their physicality in preparation for their return to the Premier League. Seven of their eight summer signings have a quite extraordinary average height of 6ft 3in, with the eighth in left-back Gabriel Gudmondsson hardly a pipsqueak at 5ft 11in.
Farke was eager to point out ahead of the game that their increased size wouldn’t result in drastic changes in style – they weren’t about to start lumping it long – and the first half of their opening Premier League game of the season could easily have been confused for one of many in the Championship last term.
They played through the lines and with purpose as Daniel James and Willy Gnonto looked a threat on the wings, Jayden Bogle made his typical underlapping runs and Ethan Ampadu controlled the game from the base of midfield while Ao Tanaka looked to make the creative difference ahead of him.
But it will have come no surprise to Farke that they were toothless up top.
“So we need to add some quality up front, but this doesn’t take anything away and we feel we can be competitive in the upcoming games and grind out results, starting today,” he told Sky Sports ahead of the game.
Leeds drew a blank just once at Elland Road last season – to the famously miserly Burnley in September – scoring 61 goals in their 23 games on home turf. And all of what you would have to say has been fine work this summer to quite literally lift this squad to compete in the top flight won’t count for anything much at all if they fail to source a striker who can score them regular Premier League goals.
Joel Piroe top scored with 19 in the Championship last season but that is very clearly his level. Jordan Pickford raced off his line to block his once big chance of the game here and the 26-year-old got very little change out of James Tarkowski and Michael Keane besides.
Nmecha replaced him in the 78th minute to make his Leeds debut and immediately made himself a hero by dispatching his penalty quite brilliantly, further endearing himself to the jubilant fans by leaving a bit on Tarkowski a few moments later and being a general nuisance to wind down the clock to help his new team to a massive three points to kick off their season.
It takes quite some bottle to step up in what was a febrile Elland Road atmosphere and convert such a pressure penalty. He’s clearly got something about him.
But Farke, and the Leeds fans when they look back at this game in the clear light of day, will be aware that a guy signed on a free transfer who scored 16 goals in 69 Bundesliga appearances for Wolfsburg and has a market value of £2.5m would have to produce performances significantly above his typical level week in, week out to be the answer for Leeds this season.
Relying on Dominic Calvert-Lewin is also very clearly a non-starter, or in his case a non-featurer, as was true here and we assume for the majority of the season given his honking injury record.
They’ve been linked with a loan move for Rasmus Hojlund, with Farke thought to be a big fan of the Denmark international despite his harrowing time at Old Trafford last season under Ruben Amorim. He might not be the answer either – probably not.
But how glorious would it be for Leeds, given their loathing of the United across the pennines, if Hojlund scored the goals for them on loan that he’s failed to score for the Red Devils. Better yet if they secure a £30m-odd buy option which becomes a bargain as he keeps them in the Premier League.
Anyway, they’ve made a fantastic start in their bid to avoid the drop. Make no mistake, as Gary Neville insisted in the studio after the game, this is a “massive” result for Leeds, as beating West Ham was for fellow Premier League returnees Sunderland on Saturday.
But they wouldn’t have won without a big slice of fortune – a deflected shot and a lean into an unnatural position from James Tarkowski. And in many ways the method of victory was ideal for Farke, who’s won three Premier League points in a game which will have strengthened his position in talks with the club with regard to signing a new striker.
Hojlund from the off with Nmecha the super sub doesn’t sound like the worst solution.
