OPINION
Even Jay-Roy Grot’s nearest and dearest would admit his debut Leeds United campaign was wretched.
The striker signed from Dutch side N.E.C. in the summer of 2017 and handed a four-year contract looked a fish out of water in the highly demanding English Championship.
He racked up 301 minutes of action during his 20 Championship appearances with the Whites, which contained just one start, as well as a handful of cup appearances but his self-confidence and form drained away as he struggled to muster much of an impact.
Some United fans saw him as a scapegoat for the frustration on the terraces as the team’s promotion challenge plummeted downhill and in one instance he was booed as he took to the pitch during Leeds’ 1-0 victory over Norwich City at Elland Road.
There were few raised eyebrows when the 20-year-old secured a season-long loan move this summer back to the Dutch Eredivisie, where he will represent VVV-Venlo.
Many Leeds fans will have thought they had seen the last of him in a white jersey.
But the Yorkshire Evening Post explain in an analysis of the 24 players offloaded by the club this summer, Grot is one of six regarded by the Elland Road hierarchy as capable of returning and being a first-team hit.
“United are quietly hopeful that Grot, after a grim first year in England, will mature and grow at VVV Venlo in Holland,” the report explains.
Any Leeds follower who watched the targetman fluff his lines so frequently last season will be flabbergasted at the prospect of him ever being an Elland Road success story.
There are major question marks over his technique, movement, touch and understanding of the centre-forward role, if not his formidable physique.
Grot has also spoken of his difficulties in settling at Leeds last season and his lack of rapport with his teammates.
The misfit could still be a matchwinner, it seems.