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Leeds strikers in pre-season fight to save Elland Road careers

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OPINION

After a season of false hope and bitter disappointment, it would be difficult to pinpoint exactly where Leeds United struggled the most over the past 10 months.

Some might argue that the biggest shortcomings took place behind the scenes, with director of football Victor Orta, former manager Thomas Christiansen and even possibly current boss Paul Heckingbottom all failing to hit the expected standards in their respective roles.

For others, the blame will lie solely on the pitch, but then again, where were the biggest problems?

Were they in between the sticks, where the emergence of Bailey Peacock-Farrell helped Felix Wiedwald and Andy Lonergan escape further embarrassment?

Was it in defence, where the likes of Laurens De Bock was usurped by Tom Pearce while Gaetano Berardi and Liam Cooper struggled to keep their discipline in check?

The midfield is not innocent either, Eunan O’Kane and Kalvin Phillips looking not just one or two rungs below January signing Adam Forshaw in terms of quality but a whole ladder.

However, the biggest problem really lay up top, where the biggest overhaul took place last summer – and quite frankly, the same should be happening again 12 months on.

While Pierre-michel Lasogga will not be at the club any more, the likes of Caleb Ekuban, Pawel Cibicki and Jay Roy Grot are all still on the Whites’ books – but how long that will remain the case will depend on their pre-season performances.

The senior trio, who all turned out for the first team last season, are set for a head-to-head battle to prove their worth to Heckingbottom over the summer break, none of them having the desired impact in competitive outings.

After their performances since signing 12 months ago, any of them could be out the exit door over the next couple of months, but with the manager unlikely to want to be without at least one attacking option other than Kemar Roofe, one of them could well be saved from the axe.

Who that could be will depend solely on their pre-season showings, and after the trip to Myanmar, which Cibicki missed out on, Grot could be the man safe from the firing line, actually impressing in front of goal.

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