A breakout star, a major signing, a man on a mission and a young gun - Four to watch ahead of Leeds United's second crack at Premier League

Four to watch

Pascal Struijk

Last season’s breakout star, Pascal Struijk, emerged as the future successor to Liam Cooper and a more-than-able understudy for the present. The question his stellar season raises is this - what will his minutes look like in 2021/22? There are still three senior international centre-halves at the club and, unless injuries strike in the way they did last season, his chances may be limited. There is a balance to be struck if Leeds are to continue developing his talent while keeping the club captain and a pair of ambitious, high profile signings happy.

Junior Firpo

The major signing of the summer, from Barcelona no less, and a player Leeds hope will give them an improvement at left-back. Firpo should be able to handle the attacking side of Leeds’ game quite easily and has the athleticism to recover if the opposition hit them on the break. His defending is what pundits who watched his time at Camp Nou have pinpointed as an area in need of improvement. The man he replaced, Gjanni Alioski, proved that significant defensive development can happen in a single season in the Premier League. Leeds have high hopes for Firpo.

Rodrigo

It didn’t happen often enough for the forward last season but, when he was fit and in form, he looked every inch the Spanish international Leeds were happy to shell out a record fee for. He’s out to show the best of himself on a more regular basis this season and, with the benefit of a full Marcelo Bielsa pre-season, should be as sharp as he has been since the move from Valencia. The little burst of goals at the end of last season was a hint of what he can do. His contribution to the press as a No 10 has been called into question and is an area in need of improvement, but his movement and creativity should be problematic for opposition defences.

Cody Drameh

It’s difficult to predict who of Mark Jackson’s 23s will make the breakthrough this season. Lewis Bate, signed from Chelsea, could well see some action if his initial adaptation period goes well and injuries to first-team players crop up. Sam Greenwood and Joe Gelhardt were on the fringes last season and are expected to be knocking on the door again in the upcoming campaign. Cody Drameh is another you might consider putting your money on. There was significant loan interest in him this summer but Leeds have kept hold of him. He has as good a chance as any of breaking through, should Luke Ayling come out of the line-up for any reason.