Leeds United are now in the automatic promotion places in the Championship after they secured a superb 3-0 win over Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.
The Whites scored all three of their goals in the first-half of the clash against Wayne Rooney’s side, as Dan James, Joel Piroe, and Brenden Aaronson all got on the scoresheet.
Daniel Farke’s side have only lost one of their opening 13 games in the division, a 1-0 loss to Burnley at Elland Road, and will be hoping to push on and secure automatic promotion.
The West Yorkshire outfit just missed out on the top two at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, as they finished third, and then lost to Southampton at Wembley in the play-off final.
Their failure to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking meant that a number of players pursued exits from Elland Road during the summer transfer window.
Georginio Rutter moved to Brighton & Hove Albion, Rennes swooped to sign Glen Kamara, Tottenham Hotspur snapped up Archie Gray, and Crysencio Summerville joined West Ham United.
Summerville’s exit, in particular, was a big blow for Leeds and Farke after the Dutchman’s sensational form in the Championship last season.
Crysencio Summerville's form in 2024
In the 2023/24 campaign, the former Feyenoord youngster caught the eye with a sublime return of 19 goals and nine assists in 43 appearances in the second tier during the regular season, and was crowned the Championship Player of the Season.
In 2024 specifically, Summerville played 25 times in the Championship, including the play-offs, and produced nine goals and three assists, with one goal and zero assists in three play-off outings.
His form in the second tier convinced Premier League side West Ham to swoop in to sign him for a reported fee of £25m plus add-ons during the summer transfer window.
Unfortunately, for the Hammers, though, the 23-year-old has not hit the ground running in the top-flight and is yet to prove that it was money well spent on his services.
Appearances
9
Starts
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Key passes per game
0.6
As you can see in the table above, Summerville has only started twice in the Premier League this season, scoring one goal, and has offered very little in the way of creativity.
There is still plenty of time for him to improve and find his feet at the top level, given he is only 23, and hopefully the Dutchman’s form improves over the coming months and years.
He has racked up ten goals and three assists in 34 league matches across the Championship and Premier League combined in 2024, which is still a very solid return from the winger.
However, there is one former Leeds United midfielder who has performed even better than the Dutch attacker throughout 2024 – Polish ace Mateusz Bogusz.
Mateusz Bogusz' time with Leeds
Victor Orta swooped to sign the teenager from Polish side Ruch Chorzow in the January transfer window in 2019 for an undisclosed fee, and he initially linked up with the U21s.
Between the 2019/20 season and the first-half of the 2020/21 campaign, Bogusz made three first-team appearances under Marcelo Bielsa – two in the EFL Cup and one in the Championship.
The central midfielder was then sent out on loan to Logrones in the second tier in Spain, and he produced one goal and one assist in 23 matches during the second half of the 2020/21 term.
Bogusz then spent 18 months on loan with Ibiza in the second division of Spanish football, with a return of six goals and seven assists in 46 appearances in total.
His form during his only full season on loan with the LaLiga 2 outfit was particularly impressive, albeit it was not enough to convince Orta and Bielsa to bring him back to Elland Road.
Appearances
20
Goals
4
Assists
6
Key passes per game
1.3
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.2
As you can see in the table above, Bogusz contributed with ten goal involvements in 20 appearances for Ibiza, whilst also making 2.2 tackles and interceptions per game.
After his loan spell in Spain was up, MLS outfit LAFC came in to sign him for a reported fee of €1m (£840k) at the start of 2023, which has turned out to be a howler from Orta.
Mateusz Bogusz' form in 2024
After a return of three goals and four assists in 23 games in the MLS during the regular season in 2023, Leeds may not have regretted their decision to cash in on him too much.
It was a solid, but unspectacular, return from the attacking midfield but his form since the turn of the year has been extraordinary and there may be some wondering what could have been for him at Elland Road.
As aforementioned, Summerville has produced ten goals and three assists in 2024 to date. Bogusz, meanwhile, has plundered a staggering return of 19 goals and ten assists in 45 appearances in all competitions this year.
He has been deployed in a variety of roles by LAFC, as a centre-forward, a right winger, and an attacking midfielder, and thrived in every position.
Appearances
33
xG
8.76
Goals
15
Big chances created
8
Key passes per game
2.1
Assists
7
As you can see in the table above, Bogusz has hugely outperformed his xG in 2024, scoring 15 times from 8.76 xG, and provided his team with plenty of creativity.
The 23-year-old star, who was described as “dangerous” by reporter Greg Beacham, has also seen his value soar during his time in America, as he was reportedly valued at £8m amid interest from Celtic during the recent summer transfer window.
This shows that Orta messed up by selling him for less than £1m in 2023, because has been in fantastic form on the pitch – outperforming Summerville in 2024 – and is now worth considerably more than what Leeds sold him for.
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