Leeds United have some of the most loyal fans in English football, and with that comes a trend; a trend of helping a player’s stock rise higher than ever as soon as they pull on the famous colours of the club and kiss the badge now embroidered on their new shirt’s chest.
Of course, this can have an impact off the pitch, however. If a player is hyped up enough and produces what seem like decent numbers that could improve even more, then when big clubs come calling, the price has the potential to sky-rocket, with one example being Raphinha, who moved to Barcelona.
With that said, we’ve ranked Leeds United’s most overrated players of the Premier League era.
10) Raphinha
Hear me out. Raphinha is an excellent player, and he may just go on to become a world-beater.
But he’s struggled since his move to Barcelona. Raphinha has scored just four goals in his 26 outings for the club. In total, he scored 17 times and laid on 12 assists – 29 goal involvements – in 67 games for Leeds. Did he really deserve that move to the Camp Nou? We’re not so sure.
Indeed. since his move to the Catalan club, he’s hardly set the world alight, either.
He has only made 11 starts in La Liga this season and there were even reports that he could potentially move on in January, less than six months after arriving.
9) Jonathan Woodgate
Jonathan Woodgate really was a victim of his own success. He was incredible at Leeds, and the praise from the Premier League even reached the ears of Real Madrid.
And that’s where the problems started. The question that should have been posed all those years ago is: Jonathan Woodgate is good enough for Leeds, but is he good enough to become a Galactico? The answer, of course, would have been no.
He had one of the worst debuts of all time, being sent off and scoring an own goal, and he was never as good as he was at Leeds thereafter.
He succumbed to injuries, with perhaps his best moment being scoring the winning goal in the 2008 League Cup final as Tottenham beat Chelsea.
8) Matteusz Klich
Now, whilst Matteusz Klich is absolutely adored by the majority of Leeds United fans, the question needs to be asked whether he is perhaps a little overrated.
And, our answer to that question is, yes, we believe that he is. The job that he does at Elland Road, which was often next to Kalvin Phillips before his departure, could arguably be fulfilled by the majority of Premier League midfielders.
To confirm this: His big move away from Leeds saw him join DC United in the USA.
Klich is one of those players who was exceptional in the lower-leagues, but couldn’t quite translate it into the Premier League.
7) Luke Ayling
Luke Ayling has been an incredible servant to Leeds United, but, in the Premier League, he has struggled at times. It was only last season when some began to admit it, too, as he occasionally lost his place to Junior Firpo – we’ll get to him – and dropped down the pecking order.
As it turns out, the top flight seems too great a step for Ayling and Jesse Marsch seemed to agree; Ayling has made just five starts this term.
He was something of a lieutenant during his time in the Championship but the step up into the Premier League has matched him up against some truly world-class wingers.
In that time, he’s been sorely exposed at times; Leeds, after all, have never been defensively solid.
6) Diego Llorente
When a club buys a player for £18 million, they would expect a certain quality.
However, it must be said that Diego Llorente hasn’t always shown that quality at Elland Road since arriving in 2020. Last season, the Spaniard was at the heart of a Leeds defence which struggled to stay afloat at times, which, again, brings questions over his transfer, and he’s made just two starts since the World Cup.
Llorente is slightly too slow on the turn, and can be consistently left hanging by attackers who have a real turn of pace.
With him in the team this season, Leeds kept just one Premier League clean sheet. It’s no surprise he was loaned to Italian side Roma in January.
5) Jermaine Pennant
When you have a nightmare loan spell at a club and you’re still overrated, then there must be a problem.
Following his spell at Leeds United, Jermaine Pennant still went on to play for a club as big as Liverpool, where he also failed to do anything special, although he remains the only English player to feature in a Champions League final and never play for his country.
The fact that his stock was still high enough to make that move is still bizarre to us, however. Just take a look at his stats: He played 36 times for the club and scored twice.
Now, he’s perhaps better known for his off-field issues, which included appearing on The Jeremy Kyle Show.
4) Illan Meslier
Illan Meslier could go on to justify the hype surrounding him. But, the fact is, for now, he remains an overrated shot-stopper.
Throughout his time in the Premier League, the Leeds United number one has made three errors leading to goals, which suggests that he’s not exactly the most reliable player to have in a relegation fight.
This season, Meslier has conceded over 30 goals in just 20 games, and has even collected two yellow cards.
He’s still only 22, which is remarkably young for a top-flight stopper, but he’s not quite at the level he needs to be right now.
3) Junior Firpo
If you have Barcelona on your CV as a footballer, almost every door in world football will automatically swing open in your direction.
And, best believe, the interview process will be short and sweet. Leeds United fell into the Barcelona trap in the summer of 2021 when they signed fullback Junior Firpo, who has failed to impress. And that’s putting it lightly.
He’s only made one start in the Premier League so far this term and it remains to be seen if a new manager will be making a change to his playing time.
It feels unlikely.
2) Daniel James
Leeds finally secured the signature of Daniel James in January of this year, but it’s fair to say that he was not worth the wait, having attempted to sign him from Swansea the summer prior.
Though, it must be said, for now, he remains an overrated player, who didn’t work out at Manchester United, and is yet to work out at Elland Road.
James has played 40 times for Leeds and has managed to score just four goals.
He is rapid, there’s no doubting that, but he really needs to add more of an end product to his game if he is to remain a Premier League player.
1) Rodrigo
When Rodrigo joined Leeds for £27 million in 2020, many, including myself, believed that the Yorkshiremen were getting themselves a player guaranteed to score goals and lead the line to Premier League safety with ease.
As it turns out, however, they had to rely on Patrick Bamford to do that job, with Rodrigo struggling at times. With 25 goals in 83 appearances, Rodrigo is an expensive, overrated flop.
It may well explain why Leeds have had to change their manager, having hitched their wagon to the Spaniard to score the goals to keep them up.
He’s not been good enough, and now he’s injured.
So, there you have it, our list of Leeds United’s most overrated players of the Premier League era. Do you agree with our picks? Or have some players been hard done by? Let us know in the comments!
The list, itself, involves a fair number of current players, which could suggest that the Leeds United fan base are backing their players more than ever.
