Finding Leeds United a left back

Leeds United have made an excellent return to the Premier League after there relegation 17 years ago in 2004. Managed by the unpredictable Marcelo Bielsa they’ve been nicknamed ‘The Entertainers' by many this season which is down to their playstyle plus their never giving up attitude.

They’re sitting in 11th place at the time of writing and although they’ve had a good return back to the top flight,if they want to stay here for a long time and start challenging for Europe again in the future,they need to improve their quality in certain positions.

One of these positions is left back,in this article I will first be discussing the characteristics required in a left back of a Bielsa system,why do Leeds need a left back and then data and video analysis on guys who I think Leeds can or should sign.

Before I start, I would like to mention that all the data used was taken from fbref.com whereas all the video used to scout players was from fullmatchsports.com.

Characteristics of a left back in a Bielsa system:

1. Starting with the pressing system,as most of us would know Leeds play man to man. In this the left back usually marks the opposition RW although at times if Leeds LW(mostly Jack H.) is assisting Leeds ST(Bamford) in pressing the opp. CBs, the left back is required to push up to mark the opp. RB. Being good at pressing is really important in a Bielsa system and any player who struggles to adapt to this system will surely find it hard to succeed at Leeds.
2. The left back needs to have good positional sense, he needs to know when to mark his marker or when to interchange his marker with his teammate to go mark the other player. He needs to track back at all times when Leeds’s attack breaks down and the opposition is in a position to counter. On the attacking side too his positional sense is important in knowing when to make runs in different positions.
3. The left back needs to be press resistant,he shouldn’t struggle under pressure. For those who don’t know press resistance means being able to progress the ball despite being pressed either by passing it or carrying it forwards.
4. The player should be good at two types of crosses: 1. Whipped crosses- This is because leeds have atleast 4–5 players attacking the box. 2. Low Crosses- This is because we see forward runs from the two 8s plus inverted runs to the center of the opposition penalty area by the Rw(mostly Raphinha).
5. The player should be good at dealing with aerial duels. I say this because at times teams go long in order to bypass Leeds’s press so it is good to have a full back who can regain possession by winning duels aerially which would in turn allow Leeds to start their own attack.
6. It is important for the left back to be good at combination play with the left winger. This is really important because people who watch Leeds would know the combination player where the LW drops deep into the half space with the LB staying wide in order to build up against a high press. There are more combinations like this which makes this characteristic valuable.

Why do Leeds need a left back?

This season two players have played at left back for Leeds United this season- first being Ezgjan Alioski who has started 25 games at left back and the other being Stuart Dallas who has started 10 games at left back. Lets start by talking about Alioski.

First of all Alioski isn’t a natural full back,Bielsa converted him from a winger to a full back after Bielsa’s arrival in 2018. Alioski’s main struggles are in build up,he struggles to progress the ball forward mostly when being pressed which is due to lack of technical ability and at times lack of scanning. Games like Arsenal(A) showed this where Arsenal had identified him as the weak link in Leeds defence while building up and I am pretty sure many of us know what happened.

Although he isn’t that bad defensively,he is surely not capable to start for a team whose intentions are to battle for Europe in the future. Alioski himself knows this and also knows that Leeds are looking for a new left back which in my opinion is also the reason behind him not renewing his contract which is going to expire at the end of this season.

Just like Alioski, Stuart Dallas is also not a natural left back,he has been converted into a variety of positions by Bielsa. Just like Alioski, Dallas struggles in build up phase too,now this is because Dallas is right footed and needs to make more touches than a left footed player playing left back would need to take. Other than that, Dallas has adapted excellently in his new role in the centre of midfield which has benefited both him and Leeds this season.

Data Analysis-

I am going to use a variety of metrics to find some players that can play in this position for Leeds. I am only going to be considering players who are 26 or younger plus have played atleast 1700 mins this season.

I have also not taken into account players who won’t be interested in joining Leeds(players playing at better or bigger clubs).

1. Defensive Profile- I know many of you will say that I should’ve used possession adjusted stats but to be honest to you all I am still not good at it and I apologise for that.

As you can see in the viz,guys like Caci, Galan and Perraud have performed really well. These are players that fit the criteria above.

2. Pressing Profile — In this viz,you might find some recognizable from the other viz,players like Javi Galan- who plays for a Huesca that also operates in a man to man system while the same is the case with Dimarco whose Verona side play the same system.

3. Passing Profile- Federico Dimarco has excelled in this metric,while players like Galan,Perraud and Caci are performing well here too. The reason behind Dimarco well here but not so well in defensive metrics will be discussed later.

4. Carries Profile- Galan,Perraud and Dimarco have again excelled in these two metrics while you all might have also noticed a new name in Caio Henrique whose attacking metrics are really good as of this season(Won’t be surprised if he moves to a big club).

5. Assists Profile- The last viz contains is based on assists and expected assists. Along with the usual players that have excelled before in the previous vizzes,a new name also popped up in Borna Sosa who was also one of the four candidates in All Stats Aren’t We Orta list for left backs.

Final Shortlist-

1. Javi Galan
2. Romain Perraud
3. Federico Di Marco

Note: This shortlist is an order from best to worst.

I would’ve loved to have players Jose Gaya in this final shortlist but I had to remove him due to his price tag of 30m while players like Caci were also removed due to him being right footed while Ruben Duarte played for an Alaves side that didn’t use their full backs very much in the attacking phase.

Eye Test-

1. Javi Galan

Galan is a 26 years old left full back/wing back who plays for a fairly poor Huesca side which has picked up some form recently. Huesca also deploy a man to man system under their new manager Jose Rojo ‘Pacheta' who is a disciple of Bielsa.

His pressing is really good as the numbers also show above,he is an aggressive presser which is important for any team playing a man to man system. Although he does this well, I still think his timing in when to press can improve,which will automatically happen when he plays for a better coach.

His 1vs 1 defending isn’t bad too,he tries to use his body to shield the ball against the opponent and win the ball back.

Huesca use their fbs/wbs really high when attacking but despite this you will never see Galan being out of possession when the opposition starts an attack after the Huesca attack broke down,he always tracks back at the right time.

Galan’s passing can improve bit but I don’t think the passing metrics do him justice as at times he plays some lovely balls forward which are not received by his teammates due to bad touch or decision making.

One of the characteristics needed in a Bielsa left back was being press resistant and Galan is excellent at this. He is easily able to bypass a press in the wide areas by inverting inside to the space not being covered by the opposition. If this option of inverting is not available he tries to find players in between the lines or go long to his striker ‘Rafa Mir' whose hold up is excellent.

Moving on to his crossing,he excels here too,some of his crosses from deep are a joy to watch,he usually likes to cross into the space vacated in the opposition penalty area. If the option of crossing is not available to him due to being marked,he usually tries to past his man and put in a low cross for his teammates. Along with his crossing,his shooting is excellent too(Check his goal against Real Madrid(A)).

Galan’s off the ball movement in the attacking phase is pretty good and smart,he picks up some good positions which can easily stretch the opposition defensive line. His off the ball movement will be of more benefit when he plays for a better team because at times his teammates are not able to find him due to lack of scanning and bad decision making.

2. Romain Perraud

Perraud is a 23 year old Frech left back who plays for Brest in Ligue 1,according to The Athletic’s Phil Hay,Leeds are looking at him as a possible signing.

He is great at defending 1vs1 duels,this partly due to his fast reactions. For eg. If his opponent shifts the ball from the right to the left foot and then again back to right,he will be able to match it due to his fast reactions.

He can cover a large space defensively. For eg. If he is marking the opposition winger in the half space and then the opposition full back makes a run on the blindside of Perraud’s teammate in the wide channel,he can immediately leave his man and go and mark the full back making the wide run,he also succeeds in winning balls from these situations.

His high pressing is good too as his number suggest(Brest don’t press that intensely). One main thing which he needs to improve is his tracking back,at times he goes forward to attack and is slow in tracking back which allows the opposition to create a numerical superiority in attack against the Brest defence.

Some other things which I think so he can improve defensively are his ability to deal with long balls,he misjudges them at times and second is his awareness,at times due to lack of awareness he allows his marker to make a run behind the Brest defensive line.

His passing in tight places is really good and consistent,he dosen’t struggle if he is being pressed. He has a fairly good range of passing too,which I think if he joins Leeds,both Leeds and Perraud would benefit from it(Leeds have been a bit more direct recently).

His whipped crosses from deep are really good and I think he will benefit more from these when he moves to a club like Leeds who have more people attacking the box. Even if an opponent is marking him,his crossing isn’t effected,he is still able to cross with the same accuracy.

If it is not possible for him to cross with his left foot,he shifts the ball into his right foot to cross it and most of the times the accuracy of the cross remains the same. If the option of crossing from both the feet isn’t available to him,he can play underlap passes in the half spaces to his teammates which at times helps in unlocking opposition defense.

3. Federico Dimarco

First of all Dimarco hasn’t played as a left back in the last two seasons,but he has played there many times before in his career. He has played as a left centre back and a left wing back for a Verona team that also plays man to man in the last two seasons. I am pretty sure that if Leeds sign him,Bielsa can turn him into a Premier League level left back.

First of all,I would not like you all to judge his defensive abilities based on his metrics because here his metrics are being compared to full backs and a full back usually needs to defend more than a wing back. Dimarco surely needs to improve some aspects of his defensive game though,with one being 1vs1 defending,he can at times take too much time before making his first move which allows the opposition to go past him.

In order to bypass Verona’s high press,teams try to go long against them at times and Dimarco is excellent at dealing against these long balls,which is important as I explained in one of the characteristics above.

Another thing which I liked about him and would transition well to Leeds is his ability to block shots and crosses and those who watch Leeds know how much shots and crosses we block in a single game.

As most of us know one of the problems with man to man marking is the space that can be left open due to smart movements by the opposition. Dimarco is excellent at covering the spaces that were left by his teammates moving up to mark their marker,this is another thing which Leeds could benefit with.

He is pretty good at building up play while being pressed either by carrying the ball forward or by finding players in between the lines which is due to his constant scanning. One thing with which he can struggle is his one footedness,he is too reliable on his left foot and at times the opposition uses this to their advantage while pressing high,this is an aspect of his game which he needs to improve.

His crossing just like Galan and Perraud is good too and I am pretty sure his crossing will be more effective when he plays for a team like Leeds. Another advantage is his set piece ability,its really good and in my opinion Leeds need one set piece taker as only Raphinha is the one who is consistently good at taking set pieces(Philips isn’t consistent in this).

Verona look to create overloads out wide using their wide centre midfielders,wing back and wide attacking midfielders,due to this Dimarco has developed good combination play abilities in his game,excelling in things like fast buildup,third man runs etc. and everyone who watches Leeds knows how important these things are in a Leeds team too,which is another reason why I think Dimarco would succeed here.

Conclusion

If I was in charge of recruitment at Leeds,I would’ve tried my best to get either of Galan or Perraud at the club and in my opinion that’s what Leeds should do.

But if they aren’t available they should be targeting Dimarco who I think is a risk worth taking. I might not be much good at scouting but I am pretty sure any of these three players would improve Leeds United next season.