First team

New Signings – Half Season Review

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It was a very busy transfer window for Leeds back in the summer of 2014, a total of 15 players were signed to whet our appetite for the season ahead.

With links to new players coming out of the woodwork lately, it would be good to go back through the past 6 months and assess those new additions to the team to see just how much of an impact they have had since becoming a Leeds player.

Statistics have been taken from whoscored.com, which unfortunately does not take into account cup matches (bar appearances/goals/assists).

Marco Silvestri 

Marco+Silvestri+AFC+Bournemouth+v+Leeds+United+ToB_mS3qcXil  Position: Goalkeeper

Age: 23 years old

Appearances: 25

Conceded: 37

Man of the Match: 1

Marco has impressed for much of the season, despite his rough patch of form recently. During the first 15 games of the season, Marco made some key saves and at times double-saves to keep Leeds in the game. At just 23, Marco has a bright future ahead of him, fingers crossed we can  hold onto him for that long.

Stuart Taylor

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Position: Goalkeeper

Age: 34 years old

Appearances: 2

Conceded: 3

It’s hard to assess the impact of a man who has only appeared against Accrington Stanley and Bradford in the cup, but for a substitute keeper I can’t really complain too much. An experienced bench warmer, Taylor brought around 80 appearances with him, including a few at Arsenal. At 34 and having never broken through as a first team keeper, I can’t imagine Stuart will be around too much longer.

Gaetano Berardi

Leeds United v Dundee United - Pre Season Friendly

Position: Defender

Age: 26 years old

Appearances: 12

Tackles Per Game: 3.3

Red Cards: 2

Berardi, where to start. He certainly loves a tackle, that’s for sure. He is an odd player. He has shown that he can be defensively capable and has the legs to get up and down the wing. However, his temperament lets him down slightly. You never know which Berardi will turn up for the game. There is also the debate of where he plays best. Personally, I see  him as more of a left-back, but with Warnock and Taylor there, he will find it difficult to get many starts.

Liam Cooper

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Position: Defender

Age: 23 years old

Appearances: 17

Goals: 1

Clearances per game: 7.1

Liam has really impressed me since joining Leeds, bar the odd mistake or calamitous own goal. He seems a lot more able to deal with men running at him than Pearce and Bellusci. He also seems to time his tackles far better, plus wins a fair amount more in the air. Cooper seems like the perfect replacement for Tom Lees, who left in the same transfer window. I look forward to seeing how he progresses.

Giuseppe Bellusci

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Position: Defender

Age: 25 years old

Appearances: 17

Goals: 2

Yellow Cards: 8

Much like Berardi, you just never know which Bellusci will turn up to the game. He has often been caught ball watching, and therefore his positioning has left men open which unfortunately has led to goals. He loves to put in a tackle and if there is any sort of commotion on the pitch, Bellusci is almost guaranteed to be first there. Personally, I see him as more of a defensive midfielder, due to his attacking capabilities. He is still fairly young though, for a defender, so maybe he will mature into a calm head at the back. Oh, two great finishes for his goals too,  I must add.

Dario Del Fabro

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Position: Defender

Age: 19 years old

Appearances: 1

Whoscored.com weakness: Tackling (Very Weak)

Most of us Leeds fans have hardly witnessed Dario kick a ball, but the reports I have heard from those that have seen him a few times either in Italy or for the development squad all point in the direction of him being a great prospect. Dario is only on loan, but should we sign him permanently, it will be interesting to see how he gets on.

Tommaso Bianchi

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Position: Midfielder

Age: 26 years old

Appearances: 25

Assists: 1

Passes per game: 51.7

Bianchi has recently been the centre of some debate, with his statistics often being thrown around as evidence. In my opinion, I don’t think he is all that. He has good passing and tackling statistics, but so would most that play defensive midfielder. Austin had the best stats at the start of the season whilst playing the holding role. Is that just a coincidence? Now, don’t get me wrong, Bianchi has played well in a few games, but I often find he goes missing a lot of the time. Maybe he is still finding his feet. Who knows?

Casper Sloth

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Position: Midfielder

Age: 22 years old

Appearances: 11

Passes per game: 19.1

Tackles per game: 1.2

I feel bad for Sloth, I really do. The quality is clearly there, but has been wasted. He is often used to play at the tip of the diamond, a position he is not fully comfortable with. He plays far better when deeper in midfield. He appears quicker than the average CM and looks fairly strong. I would like to see him be given the opportunity at a run of games deeper in midfield, hopefully Redfearn gives him that opportunity.

Zan Benedicic

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Position: Midfielder

Age: 19 years old

Appearances: 2

Pass Success: 100%

Haven’t really got much to go off for Zan. Looked fairly competent on the ball during the few minutes he has featured for us this season. He is meant to be a good, young prospect from Milan, but an injury and eventually surgery has kept him on the sidelines for most of the season. Like Del Fabro, he is only on loan, but should he stay it will be fun to watch him get a few more games under his belt.

Adryan

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Position: Attacking Midfielder

Age: 20 years old

Appearances: 12

Assists: 2

Dribbles per game: 1.5

The Unicorn. Adryan drummed up a lot of hysteria when he was linked to Leeds, but I’m pretty sure no one could actually believe it when he was signed. A young, Brazilian talent with flair. Surely not. Well he signed, and has since lived up to some expectations. He is still finding his way in this league and with the players around him. He has been quiet recently, but hopefully that is just a dip in form and he’ll be back onto his skilful ways in no time.

Nicky Ajose

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Position: Forward/Winger

Age: 23 years old

Appearances: 4

Shots per game: 1.3

Passes per game: 13

Rumoured to be one of the players ‘The Hock’ wanted to sign. Decent pace and could play out wide, something we needed really, but after just 4 appearances he fell from grace and has since gone out on loan (where he has scored 3 in 5 games). He was a little quiet when he played for us, but I feel he has some hidden potential there that could be exploited. He is still only 23, remember.

Brian Montenegro

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Position: Forward/Winger

Age: 21 years old

Appearances: 3

Passes per game: 1.5

Brian was hard to find any stats for, due to his lack of games. However, he was dominant in the development squad, scoring at least once in virtually every game he has played in for them. Blistering pace and good in the air, at just 21 years of age. Sounds perfect. He, like the other youngsters, is also here on loan, but should he sign permanently, I think he will prosper.

Billy Sharp

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Position: Forward

Age: 28 years old

Appearances: 18

Goals: 2

Assists: 1

One of the few signings most of us Leeds fans had probably heard of and knew something about. Billy is a known goal scorer in England, and when he netted a winner against Middlesbrough, we thought we had acquired a real star. Unfortunately, Billy was dropped from the side and struggled to fight his way back in, with small injuries here and there. When he does play, he shows a desire that we appear to be lacking at the moment, which is a mind-set we need given our table position. Hopefully Billy will start to score again soon, he just needs the service.

Souleymane Doukara

Souleymane+Doukara+Brentford+v+Leeds+United+4WeCBJGslU7l

Position: Forward

Age: 23 years old

Appearances: 22

Goals: 7

Assists: 3

The man who looks like he will never touch a ball in his life, let alone score a few. He is a big, strong, fast striker who on his day can really trouble defences. It’s just a shame that we rarely get to see that version of him play. He is often lazy. He possesses an awful first touch. He needs too much time on the ball. Yet he has contributed to 10 goals this season. It’s madness. At 23 years old he still has 10+ years of football ahead of him. If he stays, let us hope he learns to use his ability more effectively.

Mirco Antenucci

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Position: Forward

Age: 30 years old

Appearances: 23

Goals: 8

Assists: 1

Mirco ‘offside’ ‘fear the beard’ Antenucci has been an all-round decent signing. He puts in the workrate needed to survive in this league. He has a surprising turn of pace and he can’t half find the back of the net. His issue is mainly down to service, I think given the right chances, he will continue to score plenty for us. It is just a shame that he is now 30 years old, one of the bigger downsides to him.

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  • PAUL W says:

    Adryan has probably been the best signing so far, but Cooper, Bellusci and Antenucci have also been decent signings.
    Billy Sharp, Sloth and Del Fabro have been treat pretty badly and have not been given a proper chance in the team, but Silvestri, Bianchi, Doukara and Berardi have all had their chance and failed in my view
    On the subject of future signings, Becchio would now be a great signing, because he actually knows that strikers are supposed to get into the 18 yard box and NOT drift out to the wings or stay outside the 18 yard box, where Antenucci and Doukara seem to be these days.

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