Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke was hit with an injury blow ahead of the trip to Turf Moor to face Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.
It was revealed that summer signing Noah Okafor would be out of action for up to ten days with an adductor injury, which means that he is also a doubt for the club’s clash with West Ham United on Friday night.
The Switzerland international, who joined from AC Milan in the summer, was missed against Burnley in the 2-0 loss to the Clarets, as Leeds spurned all four of the ‘big chances’ that they created.
Okafor is the club’s top goalscorer in the Premier League this season, with two goals, and boasts the best conversion rate in the squad, at 33%, per Sofascore.
The 25-year-old star has shown a clinical edge in front of goal that could have helped the Whites to get more out of their trip to Turf Moor on Saturday.
Instead, Jack Harrison came into the team to replace him on the left flank, with Wilfried Gnonto also unavailable, and he was never likely to offer much of a threat as a goalscorer.
Why Leeds cannot rely on Jack Harrison
Farke cannot rely on the former Everton loanee to provide quality at the top end of the pitch because his form in the Premier League in recent seasons has simply not been good enough.
The left-footed dud, who returned to Elland Road in the summer, has failed to register a single goal or assist in eight appearances in all competitions for the club this season, per Sofascore, taking two shots and failing to hit the target once against Burnley.
Harrison had one presentable opportunity to test Martin Dubravka in the second half on the volley, unmarked inside the box, and steered his effort well off target, to cheers from the home support.
That was not a surprise, unfortunately, because his form during a two-year spell on loan with Everton showed that Leeds could not rely on him to offer a threat in front of goal on a consistent basis.
Appearances
29
34
Starts
25
24
xG
3.57
3.52
Goals
3
1
Minutes per goal
742
2,088
Conversion rate
9%
3%
As you can see in the table above, Harrison scored four goals from 7.09 xG for the Toffees, and only managed one goal in 34 matches in the 2024/25 campaign.
This means that the former Manchester City youngster has scored four goals in his last 70 games at Premier League level, and just one in his last 41 outings in the division, including seven games for the Whites this term.
Injuries to Gnonto and Okafor have left Leeds incredibly exposed out wide, because of their lack of quality and depth, and Farke may have to get creative to solve the problem.
Whilst the easy, if that is how you want to describe it, option would be to keep Harrison in the team and hope that something changes before the other two players are back, the German head coach could take a risk on a young player.
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You could argue, though, that it is not a risk to throw an academy player into the side if the first-team player, Harrison in this case, is consistently failing to deliver when he plays.
Therefore, Farke could finally bin the underperforming English winger from his starting line-up by boldly unleashing U21s winger Connor Douglas.
Why Leeds should unleash Connor Douglas
The 20-year-old talent is a versatile forward who can play on the right or the left wing, per Transfemarkt, which means that the manager could unleash him directly over Harrison on the left, or he could unleash him on the right and move Brenden Aaronson over to the left.
Douglas, who has also played in central midfield and at right-back, has scored one goal and provided two assists in five appearances in the Premier League 2 so far this season, per Transfermarkt.
This shows that he is making an impact and impressing at the top end of the pitch at U21 level, which suggests that he would be full of confidence when heading up to the first-team to make an impression.
Douglas was once hailed as a “joy to watch” by PureFootball writer Trent Gaffney. The same could not be said of Harrison right now, unfortunately, due to his dismal form in front of goal.
Leeds supporters may be more encouraged by the team’s efforts if they see a young and promising winger from the academy who wants to take players on and make things happen, as Douglas is, than seeing Harrison struggle once again.
There is no guarantee that Douglas will be able to translate his form for the U21s over to the first-team, so it is a risk in that sense, but the Whites do not have much to lose with the injury issues that they have been hit with.
Noah Okafor
2
0
Lukas Nmecha
1
0
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
1
0
Brenden Aaronson
0
0
Dan James
0
0
Wilfried Gnonto
0
0
Jack Harrison
0
0
Joel Piroe
0
0
As you can see in the table above, Okafor is the only winger in the squad who has delivered a goal or an assist in the Premier League for the Whites this season, after eight matchdays.
That should be a huge concern for Farke and is why it may be worth unleashing Douglas from the start against West Ham, if Okafor remains unavailable through injury.
The 20-year-old starlet has scored 12 goals and provided nine assists in 65 matches at U21 and U18 level combined, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he has the potential to offer a threat in front of goal.
With the situation that Leeds are in with their wide options, Douglas may offer an interesting solution for Farke in the next Premier League game against the Hammers.