Leeds United response to £105m exit trio reveals encouraging foundation despite delicate mood
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Leeds remain unbeaten after three games of the new Championship season and while the Whites have appeared convincing at both ends of the pitch in only their most recent fixture, there are green shoots to suggest the team are moving in the right direction.
United are three points better off than at the same stage last year, which finished with the side accruing 90 points and third place in the table. Leeds became only the second club to manage 90 points during a modern-day Championship campaign and fail to win automatic promotion having spent the entire season on the coat-tails of early pace-setters Leicester City and Ipswich Town.
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Hide AdWhile missing out on promotion has ultimately meant Leeds bid farewell to the likes of Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter, the team have still managed to pick up results in their absence. It remains too early to cast any definitive judgements on the team this season, they will need to be tested in different circumstances over the next weeks and months in order to determine how valid their promotion credentials are.
But, the number of chances created against Portsmouth, a clean sheet at The Hawthorns and an away win against a renewed Sheffield Wednesday all points towards the possibility that this season's goal of clinching promotion can still be achieved despite early concerns.
Defensively, there is work to be done, both in the market and on the pitch, and once Jayden Bogle settles into a rhythm playing alongside Joe Rodon, Illan Meslier and Pascal Struijk, the Whites' defensive issues will appear more ironed out.
That said, any perceived defensive frailties during the first 270 minutes of the season - excluding the Carabao Cup defeat to Middlesbrough in which Daniel Farke made eight changes - are largely individual rather than structural.
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Hide AdLeeds' xGC (Expected Goals Conceded) according to data experts Opta is the second-lowest after three Championship matchdays (2.09). Only Sunderland, who are yet to concede, boast a lower xGC figure (1.54).
At the other end of the pitch, Leeds' xG is the third-highest in the division (5.29) behind Middlesbrough (7.31) and Wednesday (5.49) which suggests that despite an insipid-looking attacking performance against West Bromwich Albion, the team do possess the ability to create proportionately more chances, of a higher quality, than the majority of the league in which they compete.
Willy Gnonto, subject of prolonged transfer speculation, looks content to remain at Elland Road, the Whites remain active in the market seeking to add players at both ends of the pitch and their underlying numbers indicate over 46 games, Leeds will be there or thereabouts. That is, of course, as long as Leeds do acquire the requisite profiles still needed before the transfer deadline.
This weekend's home game against Hull City gives Leeds an opportunity to build some much-needed momentum without the distraction of the transfer window and potential outgoings still looming, before the first international break of the season. Upon returning to domestic action, an Elland Road meeting with Burnley will be the first real test of character. If Leeds can reinforce the squad and avoid defeat in their next two, both very realistic possibilities, it would represent a strong foundation - or 'basement', as Farke tends to put it - for the season ahead.
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