Leeds United Raphinha theory as Victor Orta’s second transfer priority eases summer window pain

Bringing youngsters through the academy and into the first team is not just a feel-good story that plays well with supporters, it's a genuine means to compete against far richer clubs. The better Leeds' recruitment of very young teenagers, the better they can exist and survive in the long term in a domestic market with increasingly-wild pricing for potential - English-born potential especially. The prices Leeds were quoted for some teenagers last summer - George Hall of Birmingham for example - highlighted just how lucrative academy development can be and just how quickly players become expensive.

Why pay tens of millions for talent produced elsewhere when you can grow your own, or at least find it before it attracts a huge price tag, or so the thinking goes in Orta's Anticipate Talent project.

Much of the work that has been going into that particular venture, at Elland Road and Thorp Arch, may not yield its fruit for the better part of a decade or even beyond and who knows if Orta himself will even be in situ to reap the dividends and the credit, but that's the rub of long-term thinking.

Looking further afield, as Leeds have done in recent years, leads to a second field to be worked and that's the identification of young, promising players whose career trajectory appears to be taking them to the top. This is where Leeds want to make themselves the move before the next move, the transfer before the transfer to a team contesting for titles, playing in Europe or simply offering riches beyond that of Leeds' current means.

Raphinha was 23 when he arrived at Elland Road but it was evident even before his 24th birthday that his next move was going to take him to one of Europe's elite clubs. Leeds simply positioned themselves as a good move before the next move, benefitted from the Brazilian's supreme talent and then raked in a massive profit when Barcelona came calling.

It could be said that the biggest clubs need not worry themselves too much with finding these gems because once they've been put on display by the likes of Leeds, they can just go and pluck them away. But when they do, they've got to pay big money. Quite how Europe's biggest and richest outfits missed the fact that Raphinha's talent was already at a top-flight worthy level when he was playing for Rennes is largely by the by, because Leeds, convinced of that fact, were ready and able to pounce the very minute a last-gasp summer transfer window of opportunity opened up. The rest is very profitable history.

Where Leeds have encountered more difficulty, specifically last summer, was in getting deals over the line for players who were ready for that next move, there and then. Charles De Ketelaere and Cody Gakpo, guided by their clubs and their agents, realised that they could make the step up to elite level without Leeds' help and did so, joining AC Milan and Liverpool respectively.

Yet here is where Orta's second field came back into play, because the failure to land top targets left Leeds needing someone as the summer deadline approached and they were already so far down the line with FC Zurich that Willy Gnonto was dreaming of and planning for his inevitable Elland Road Premier League arrival.

Months later, that £4m sum looks even more bargainous than the £17m paid out for Raphinha and once again begs a question of Europe's top clubs. Italy boss Roberto Mancini put it to Serie A, just this week: "Why hasn’t anyone signed Gnonto in Italy? He could play for Sampdoria or Fiorentina. Nobody took him, but he plays as a regular in the Premier League.”

In 16 English top flight appearances Gnonto has already put together a compelling case to be considered a prime candidate for that next move, whenever that may be.

Against Wolves on Saturday the winger showcased the turn of pace and byline ability that creates problems for defenders and goals for Leeds, Jack Harrison the beneficiary as he stroked home the opener. But beyond Gnonto's goal contributions - of which there have been seven in Leeds colours - a maturity that matches his off-field behaviour showed itself at Molineux. In situations where a young, hot-blooded winger might decide to dribble and risk the ball, he used it wisely, keeping possession and linking up with those around him. Comparisons to Raphinha would run into trouble for they are different in profile, yet a winger who can pass the ball, carry it so comfortably - Gnonto did so further and more progressively than any other Leeds player at Wolves - and make or score goals is one to be cherished and enjoyed.

He's far from alone in that high potential category that opens up possible future profit or, at the very least, significant contributions to Leeds' on-field endeavours. Illan Meslier, despite what his critics believe, holds huge potential and could easily find himself the target of a club playing European football. Pascal Struijk and Crysencio Summerville, who both played vital roles as substitutes on Saturday, are no less exciting prospects.

Sourcing and securing these young players, for nominal fees - or no fee at all in Struijk's case - takes painstaking toil but the rewards of that work for Leeds could be huge.

The downside to all of this is the nature of the beast for all but a select handful of clubs. Diamonds who shine attract the rich. Players like Raphinha, who become fan favourites, are difficult to part with. His loss has been felt keenly on the pitch, too, but Gnonto is proof that if the wheels of recruitment keep turning as they should, you can replace a favourite with a new favourite. There are new bargains to be had, with just as much high ceiling potential. You might never make your own Gnonto, you just have to make sure you find him first. And Leeds did.