Good Morning. It's Thursday 29th September, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Milan still keeping close tabs on Sinisterra
Italian journalist Carlo Pellegatti claims AC Milan are still keeping close tabs on Luis Sinisterra, and believe they can prise him away from Leeds for €25m - €35m (£22.5m - £31m). The 23yo has been in fine form for both club and Country since his £23m Summer move, finding the back of the net against Barnsley, Everton and Brentford domestically, and bagged a further three goals during the recent International break.
Whilst Pellegatti has clearly been on the vino, if he believes Milan stand a chance of stealing Sinisterra away from Elland Road on the cheap, it does highlight the fact, Leeds have unearthed a rare talent. His goal scoring record at Feyenoord was remarkable, but the Whites took a massive gamble whether he could make the step-up from the Eredivisie to the Premier League. According to Pellegatti...
My big dream is only one, Luis Sinisterra. At Feyenoord he played on the left, but at Colombia and Leeds he starts from the right. “He reminds me to death of Leao, even if he is less overbearing and devastating in the race. But he has great class and confidence, he reminds me of Rafa.”
Having one on the right and the other on the left, with De Ketelaere as an attacking midfielder, would drive me crazy. Moncada [AC Milan's chief scout] followed him, Milan likes him. He has a market value of 25-35 million, therefore in the range of the club.
Kristensen or Ayling
Rasmus Kristensen will battle it out with Luke Ayling for the right back slot this weekend, for the visit of Aston Villa. The 25yo returned to action for Denmark during the International break, following a three-week lay off with a knock he picked up in training. He averaged an hour against France and Croatia giving him a good chance of starting on Saturday.
Ayling too has returned to full fitness following knee surgery at the end of last season. Following his cameo role against Brentford almost a month ago, he gave a good account for himself for the U21's (as a substitute) in their 6-2 win against Southampton, and has worked hard in the meantime to get match fit.
Kristensen hasn't had a great start to his Leeds career, but perhaps with Ayling back in contention, he will push himself further. Who would you start with at right back on Sunday?
Meslier fifth most ‘impactful’ keeper in Europe under 25
According to data collected by the 'CIES Football Observatory', Illan Meslier is the fifth most ‘impactful’ goalkeeper in Europe under the age of 25.
Level of competition, individual performance and minutes are all contributing factors, taken into consideration when calculating the statistics, which gave the 22yo a score of 84.5. Only Aaron Ramsdale - Arsenal, Gregor Kobel - Borrusia Dortmund, Diogo Costa - FC Porto, and Gianluigi Donnarumma - PSG had better averages. Not only did Meslier make the top five, but he was the youngest keeper in the top 10.
Roca - signing of the season so far.
Graham Smyth, the Chief Football writer for the Yorkshire Evening Post, has labelled Marc Roca as 'the signing of the season so far'. The 25yo has enjoyed a good start to his Elland Road career following his £10m move from Bayern Munich in the Summer. His overall stats on 'Whoscored.com' show his overall contributions, make him Leeds fourth-best player this season, behind Rodrigo, Struijk and Harrison. Fellow new recruits Adams is 5th, Arronson 6th, Kristensen 7th and Sinisterra 8th. According to Symth...
Arguably the signing of the season so far, his contribution to getting Leeds up the pitch has been massive. A lovely passer of the ball and a player who operates gracefully in the middle. Likes a tackle, too.
