Leeds United’s work during the summer transfer window is naturally going to be called into question with the team currently sat in the relegation zone in the Premier League at the start of December.
Whilst two of their signings, Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, scored in their loss to Manchester City, the summer arrivals have not done enough to keep the side out of the bottom three.
For example, James Justin was brought in as an experienced Premier League defender and was beaten with ease inside the opening minute for Phil Foden’s first goal on Saturday.
Ranking Leeds United's summer signings
Unfortunately, too many of the club’s summer signings have made similar mistakes without providing much quality, at one end of the pitch or the other, to make up for it.
Leeds paid £13.9m to sign goalkeeper Lucas Perri from Lyon to replace Illan Meslier, but he has let in 0.92 more goals than expected and saved just 54% of the shots against him in the Premier League this season, per Sofascore.
Whilst the Brazilian shot-stopper has been one of their worst additions, Sean Longstaff has provided consistency in midfield since his move from Newcastle, leading the team in ‘big chances’ created (six) and key passes per game (1.7).
1
Sean Longstaff
2
Noah Okafor
3
Gabriel Gudmundsson
4
Anton Stach
5
Lukas Nmecha
6
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
7
Lucas Perri
8
James Justin
9
Jaka Bijol
10
Sebastiaan Bornauw
As you can see in the table above, Noah Okafor and Gabriel Gudmundsson rank just below the Englishman with the exciting connection that they have forged together on the left flank.
At the other end of the ranking, though, Jaka Bijol has to be down there because he was dropped for the last two games after his first three starts for the club in the Premier League.
It is, unfortunately, Sebastiaan Bornauw who currently ranks at the bottom of the pile, though, because he looks to be their biggest waste of a signing since Jean-Kevin Augustin.
Why Leeds need to move on from Sebastiaan Bornauw already
The Belgian defender seemed to be a signing that Daniel Farke had a big say in, because he came from Germany, Wolfsburg, and was a transfer target for the manager during his time at Norwich in the summer of 2021.
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This meant that it felt like a long time coming for Bornauw and Farke to finally work together, yet it has not played out that way in the first few months of the season, as the defender has not played a single minute in the league.
Every Leeds fan will be familiar with the story of Augustin’s time at Elland Road, as the club had to pay £24.5m for the player after opting not to go through with an obligation to sign him permanently because he only played 48 league minutes during his time on loan in the 2019/20 campaign.
Man City
Not in squad
Aston Villa
Not in squad
Nottingham Forest
Not in squad
Brighton
Not in squad
West Ham
Not in squad
Burnley
0
Spurs
0
Bournemouth
Not in squad
Wolves
Not in squad
Fulham
Not in squad
Newcastle
0
Arsenal
0
Everton
0
As you can see in the table above, 48 minutes of league football looks favourable in comparison to how Bornauw’s season in the Premier League has gone.
The former Belgium international is out with an injury at the moment, but the Whites boss has left him as an unused substitute in the five top-flight games that he has been available for, despite having wanted to sign the star since 2021.
Bornauw’s only minutes in all competitions came in a loss to Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday on penalties in the League Cup back in August, per Sofascore, with the likes of Bijol, Joe Rodon, and Pascal Struijk all ahead of him in the pecking order at centre-back in the league.
At the age of 26, the Belgian defender should be playing regular football and be a first-choice at a club. Instead, he looks set to continue watching on from the bench at Leeds unless something drastically changes in the coming weeks.
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With this in mind, it may be best for both parties to find a solution in the January transfer window, as the transfer does not seem to have worked out and it has been a bit of a waste of time for the club and the player, as was also the case with Augustin.