OPINION
Leeds United need a “Dwight Gayle type of player”, according to former forward Gary McSheffrey.
Marcelo Bielsa’s men drew a blank in their 1-0 defeat to Charlton Athletic on Saturday afternoon, a result that saw them slip to fourth in the Championship table.
And McSheffrey, who spent the second half of the 2009/10 season on loan at Elland Road, believes he has identified the root of the club’s current issues.
Speaking on EFL on Quest, as quoted by Leeds Live, he said: “For me, they need a Dwight Gayle type of player.
“That’s what didn’t get them over the line last season and it’s their Achilles’ heel this term as well.”
McSheffrey is surely bang on the money with his verdict here.
United are relying heavily on Patrick Bamford at the moment, with the 26-year-old having started every one of his side’s league matches so far this term, but he hasn’t found the back of the net in four games, and is consistently the subject of ire from frustrated supporters, as reported by This is Futbol.
In fairness, you can understand why they aren’t too happy with him.
Bamford has a shot accuracy average of 30% in the Championship so far this term, and has hit 0.48 goals per game, as per Wyscout.
Most telling, however, is the fact that his expected goals per game is 0.69 per game.
That discrepancy shows just how wasteful he has been at times this season, and that inefficiency in front of goal could prove to be costly for United.
By contrast, Gayle was a picture of clinical finishing last term for West Brom.
24 Championship goals were just the tip of the iceberg though.
Compared to Bamford, Gayle had a shot accuracy rate of 47.3% last season, as per Wyscout.
Even more impressive, however, is his expected goals compared to his actual conversion rate.
Despite have a xG of 0.51 strikes per game, Gayle actually converted a rate of 0.69 goals per game.
That means that for every five games he played last season in the league, he was scoring a goal that he had no right to.
By comparison, for every five games Bamford has played this season, he should have had an extra goal to his name.
The difference between the two is overt, and you would have to argue that United would stand a much better chance of winning promotion if they had a more clinical finisher like Gayle leading the line.