Leeds United's £25 million man given clear area for improvement as record arrival intensifies competition

This season, Leeds have struggled to penetrate opposition penalty areas, despite head coach Jesse Marsch’s vertical style focused on attacking the box from central areas. A clip of the 49-year-old from one of his pre-match press conferences went viral recently, as the American explained an ultra-simplified version of his playing philosophy.

"I joke often and say the goal is not on the sideline, it’s on the touchline, the goal is in the middle, on the end-line. And so when we win balls, we don't want to run to the corner, we want to run to the middle of the pitch where the goal is - and that's how you score goals,” Marsch said.

Leeds have not struggled to score goals, though. In fact they are the second highest-scoring team in the Premier League’s bottom half, despite playing one game fewer than the majority of their positional rivals.

While the merits of the head coach’s tactics are up for debate, there is no denying that Leeds have struggled to create flowing, attacking moves in the opposition half, often instead relying on high turnovers of possession and short, sharp actions to generate goalscoring opportunities. When this has worked, it appears ruthless and incisive, but when teams drop deep and seek to suffocate Leeds’ attacks, attacking frailties come to the fore.

One such concern is Leeds’ difficulty in finding white shirts inside the box. This season, the United player with most successful passes into the penalty area, per Opta data, is Jack Harrison with 20. That is a far-cry from Kevin De Bruyne and Kieran Trippier who have 65 and 56, respectively, but more pressing is the fact that 38 players – representing 17 teams – have recorded more passes into the penalty area than Leeds’ best.

Per 90 minutes, Leeds’ standing is more favourable as Willy Gnonto’s 1.67 passes into the penalty area ranks 28th in the Premier League. Harrison, meanwhile is not far behind with 1.52 per 90. There is a notable drop-off when it comes to £25 million summer buy Brenden Aaronson, though, a player who has frequently started in an attacking position, but toiled when it has come to finding a teammate inside the 18-yard box.

Aaronson’s 0.46 passes into the penalty area per 90 is only enough to place him 12th among his Leeds teammates, averaging a successful pass into the box once every other game.

Last month, the Whites broke their transfer record to sign £28 million forward Georginio Rutter, whilst committing to spend an initial £30 million on USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie when his purchase agreement is exercised. The latter has been described as an energetic, box-to-box player but is not regarded as a particularly creative presence. Similarly, Rutter can play anywhere across the forward line but is more finisher than provider.

This season, McKennie has averaged 0.51 passes into the penalty area per 90 in a strong Juventus team, and while Rutter’s Bundesliga record at TSG Hoffenheim is slightly better at 0.80 per 90, neither could be described as prolific chance creators. There are caveats, of course, Rutter nominally playing as a striker, receiving passes rather than making them and McKennie has on occasion been used as a hybrid, right-sided player at Juventus this year, operating somewhere between a right-back and right midfielder.

Both are promising additions and addressed problem areas in Marsch’s squad, however the lack of a single, prolific chance creator remains. Although, there is an alternative argument that spreading the chance creation load across the team leaves Leeds less vulnerable to injuries and suspension.

If Marsch’s team are to be successful with his preferred style in the second half of the season, an improvement in the creativity department is likely to yield better results. While the likes of Harrison, Gnonto, Luis Sinisterra and Rodrigo all contribute reasonably in this regard, an uptick in Aaronson’s output could prove to be the key which unlocks the potential Leeds boast on paper.