Andy Couzens believes Leeds could have won by a large margin against Preston on Saturday afternoon if Chris Wood had taken his chances.
Wood, 25, was put through on goal after playmaker Pablo Hernandez had won the ball back inside his own half, playing an inch-perfect pass into the New Zealand international’s path.
However, the powerful striker’s side-footed effort was expertly saved by Preston goalkeeper Chris Maxwell, with the score deadlocked at 0-0 and Preston down to 10 men.
Former Leeds midfielder Couzens claimed on his personal Twitter account that if Wood had scored, then Leeds would have won by “three or four” and fans would be talking about a “great start to the season”.
If wood scores that 1-1 we win 3 or 4 for me Preston frustrated us all game. And we would be talking about a great start to the season https://t.co/hm53xsDMuz
— andy couzens (@andycuz23) August 13, 2017
Prior to the match, former Leicester striker Wood was the subject of a reported bid from Premier League side Burnley, with top-tier interest likely to be aplenty after he scored 30 goals for the Whites last season.
The Yorkshire Evening Post claim Leeds rejected a bid of £12million from Burnley for Wood, who has already opened his account this season with a deft header from close range against Bolton.
New head coach Thomas Christiansen remains unbeaten in his start to life at Leeds, after securing wins against Bolton last Sunday with a narrow 3-2 win before beating Port Vale 4-1 in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
Leeds next face Fulham on Tuesday night at Elland Road, as they look to continue their unbeaten start to life in the league and add another three points in their hunt for promotion.
OPINION
Christiansen has started well to life as Leeds manager and Couzens is right in saying that the Whites would have gone on to win the match, if he tucked away his effort. Last season, Leeds’ number nine would have hit the back of the net with his eyes closed and fans will now be worried that his display could have been affected by Burnley’s reported bid on Friday. The striker may have had his head turned with a potential move to the Premier League in the offing, as it remains to be seen if Leeds will receive another bid for the striker. Christiansen’s top priority ahead of Tuesday’s clash against Fulham is to refocus Wood, by making him concentrate on Leeds’ promotion chase rather than any Premier League interest.