Leeds United may be without two of their wide options when they face off against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League this weekend.
Head coach Daniel Farke has revealed that both Wilfried Gnonto and Daniel James may not be available to take part in the trip to the Molineux Stadium.
This means that Brenden Aaronson seems likely to keep his place on the right flank, unless the German boss decides to go with Jack Harrison ahead of the USA international.
The American flop, who is an attacking midfielder by trade, has scored one goal in 40 appearances in his Premier League career, per Sofascore, whilst the English winger has scored one goal and failed to provide any assists in 37 outings in the division since the start of last season.
These statistics do not make for great reading and do not suggest that Aaronson or Harrison are likely to come up with a moment of magic to win the game for Leeds against Wolves this weekend.
The Whites have failed to score a goal from open play in the Premier League this season, partly because of their lack of quality out wide, and they may still rue the fact that they were unable to land Igor Paixao.
Why Leeds failed to sign Igor Paixao
Leeds put a £30.5m offer down on the table for the Brazilian forward during the summer transfer window, only for the attacker to turn down a move to Elland Road to sign for Marseille.
Feyenoord, per the Yorkshire Evening Post, were willing to accept the club’s offer for Paixao, which meant that they left it up to the player to decide where he wanted to go next in his career.
Unfortunately, for Leeds and Farke, the left-sided attacker opted to sign for Marseille because they are a stable top-flight side and had Champions League football to offer him, which the Whites were unable to compete with in the end.
Missing out on Paixao was a frustrating blow for the Championship champions because he had the potential to be an exciting addition to the squad after an impressive campaign in the Netherlands.
The 25-year-old star, who is in the prime years of his career, racked up 18 goals and 14 assists in 47 appearances in all competitions for Feyenoord last term, per Sofascore, which convinced Leeds to put a bid of more than £30m in for his services.
xG
10.56
Top 2%
xG on target
16.25
Top 2%
Goals
16
Top 2%
Shots on target
43
Top 2%
xA
6.71
Top 4%
Chances created
70
Top 1%
Assists
10
Top 3%
As you can see in the table above, Paixao was one of the most productive forwards in the Dutch top-flight with his contributions as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
Given the options currently at Farke’s disposal for this weekend’s clash and how the games have gone so far this season, missing out on Paixao was a big blow for the Whites.
First Impressions
What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast’s ‘First Impressions’ series has everything you need.
However, Leeds were brewing their own version of Paixao, and potentially their next Raphinha, at Elland Road in Largie Ramazani before Farke ditched him in the summer window.
Why Ramazani could have been Leeds United's own Paixao
The Belgian winger could have been a hybrid of both Paixao and Raphinha in West Yorkshire if the club had kept him and continued his development in England, instead of allowing him to join Valencia on loan.
Supporters will, of course, remember how exciting Raphinha was to watch when Leeds were last in the Premier League, after his move from Rennes in 2020.
Well, Ramazani played in LaLiga at the same time as the Brazil international in the 2023/24 campaign and they were listed as similar players, statistically, by FBref. The then-Almeria star averaged 0.33 xAG per 90 compared to the Brazilian’s 0.38 xAG per 90, as they both ranked within the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers in LaLiga for creating high-quality chances.
After his promising form in LaLiga for Almeria, Ramazani completed a £10m move to Elland Road in the summer of 2024 to sign for Leeds in the Championship.
The left-sided attacker, who was described as a counter-attacking “weapon” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, only started seven matches in the second tier during the 2024/25 campaign, but delivered six goals and two assists in his limited minutes on the pitch for the Whites.
Non-penalty xG
0.54
Top 2%
Shots on target
1.84
Top 2%
Goals
0.69
Top 2%
Assists
0.23
Top 20%
Chances created
1.50
Top 32%
Dribbles completed
2.07
Top 15%
As you can see in the table above, Ramazani ranked incredibly highly among his positional peers for goals and assists when filtered into per-90 metrics, which illustrates how efficient he was in the minutes that Farke handed him.
Fuelled by those performances in the Championship, FBref list Paixao as one of the most similar players to the Belgian forward over the past 365 days based on their statistics per 90.
The chart above shows that the £10m Leeds forward even outperformed the Brazilian in a host of statistics, but it is worth adding that he only started seven games whilst Paixao was a regular starter for Feyenoord.
What these statistics do show, though, is that Leeds had an exciting left winger who has been comparable to both Raphinha and Paixao on their hands, yet they allowed him to leave on loan.
It is a decision that seems more bizarre with each passing game that the Whites do not score an open play goal in, particularly when you consider that Ramazani already has an open play assist in two appearances for Valencia in LaLiga.
The Whites, therefore, must regret ditching him in the summer window, even if it was only on loan, because he has the quality to provide an attacking spark in the final third, like Raphinha and Paixao, and that is something that they desperately need right now.