Leeds United are marching on towards promotion to the Premier League and could clinch it by the end of the Easter matches if results go their way.
The Whites play Oxford away and Stoke at Elland Road and if they win both matches and Sheffield United fail to pick up maximum points, their place in the top-flight will be secured.
Of course, that still means that Daniel Farke’s side need to do their job and pick up all three points in both of their games, on Friday and Monday, to put themselves in a strong position, after their 2-1 win over Preston North End last weekend.
The West Yorkshire outfit are bidding to earn promotion to the Premier League at the second time of asking, after they lost 1-0 in the play-off final last term.
They could be about to secure that promotion without a particularly creative number ten in their ranks, as USA international Brenden Aaronson has racked up two assists in 42 appearances – including 39 starts – in the Championship.
This is the polar opposite of the 2023/24 campaign when Farke had the incredibly impressive Georginio Rutter to provide creativity as an attacking midfielder.
Why Georginio Rutter was so important for Leeds
The French dynamo was the creative hub of the team, whether he was deployed as a centre-forward or as an attacking midfielder, with his ability to slice open opposition defences on a regular basis for the Whites.
Rutter ended last season with an eye-catching return of six goals, 22 ‘big chances’ created, and 15 assists in 45 appearances in the second tier for Leeds, which shows that he made a consistent impact at the top end of the pitch.
The left-footed star, as shown in the clip above, was capable of the sublime in the Championship last term because of the quality he possessed on the ball.
That also shines through in the underlying data behind his performances for the West Yorkshire outfit in the 2023/24 campaign, as he ranked incredibly highly among his positional peers in a host of key creative metrics.
Expected Assisted Goals
0.29
Top 2%
Assists
0.39
Top 2%
Shot-creating actions
4.41
Top 2%
Progressive passes
4.46
Top 3%
Successful take-ons
3.06
Top 1%
Progressive carries
2.89
Top 5%
As you can see in the table above, Rutter was one of the best forwards in the Championship at creating high-quality chances for his teammates to find the back of the net, whilst he also progressed the play consistently through passes and carries to get his team up the pitch.
These statistics, and his overall return of goals and assists, explain why he was so important to Farke’s side and why it was a blow when he moved to Brighton & Hove Albion last summer.
The Whites do not currently have another creative playmaker like Rutter in the squad, as Aaronson has failed to provide consistent quality in that respect, but they do have a player out on loan with the potential to be the manager’s next version of the French magician.
The Leeds star who could be the next Georginio Rutter
As aforementioned, Aaronson’s return of two assists in 39 starts in the Championship this season does not suggest that he has the quality to step up to the Premier League to be the chief creator in the number ten position.
This means that Farke and Leeds have to consider their options and look at alternatives ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, whether that be a new recruit or a player coming back from loan.
One player who could return from a loan elsewhere to stake a claim for a place in the team is attacking midfielder Sam Greenwood, who is currently on loan at Preston North End.
The Lilywhites have the option to sign him on a permanent deal at the end of his current loan spell, but reporter Alan Nixon, via his Patreon, has revealed that they are ‘unlikely’ to splash the cash required to exercise that option.
This means that Leeds can bring the 23-year-old star back into the fold at Elland Road, or at least provide him with an opportunity to impress in pre-season before a final decision is made on his future.
In the Championship this season, Greenwood has scored five goals, created 14 ‘big chances’, and claimed five assists in 28 starts for Preston, which means that he has created a ‘big chance’ every other match on average.
Expected Assisted Goals
0.23
Top 3%
Assists
0.11
Top 47%
Shot-creating actions
3.43
Top 6%
Progressive passes
2.33
Top 16%
Successful take-ons
0.92
Top 18%
Progressive carries
2.36
Top 3%
As you can see in the table above, the English whiz is similar to Rutter in the sense that he ranks incredibly highly among his positional peers as a creative and progressive force in an attacking midfield role.
The key difference between the two, however, appears to be that Rutter’s teammates were clinical with the chances that he created for them, hence why he ranked in the top 2% for assists, whilst Greenwood’s teammates have been very wasteful in front of goal.
These statistics show that the Leeds loanee, whose set-piece delivery was once described as a “weapon” by pundit Noel Whelan, has the potential to develop into Rutter 2.0 for Farke.
He is a creative threat who can slice open defences to provide his teammates with high-quality opportunities on a regular basis, which is not something that Leeds currently have with Aaronson in the number ten role.
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Therefore, it could make sense for Farke to take a look at Greenwood in pre-season to see if he has what it takes to make the step up to be the new Rutter, as his statistics show that the potential is there for him to do so.
