After three years in the top division, Leeds United was demoted from the Premier League at the end of the previous campaign, and they were sent back to the Championship.
Victor Orta, the former sporting director, was fired in May 2022, just before relegation was formally announced, because his managerial choices and new hires were unable to keep the team from going down.
After taking over for Marcelo Bielsa in February 2022, Jesse Marsch helped the Yorkshire-based team secure a third season in the division by working to keep the Whites in the Premier League over the next three months.
The following summer transfer window, Orta supported the American head coach by bringing in seven new players on long-term contracts, including Tyler Adams, Wilfried Gnonto, Rasmus Kristensen, and Brenden Aaronson.
It’s safe to assume that Leeds’s experiences with those arrangements were mixed. For the Whites, Kristensen was an especially bad addition because he performed poorly at right-back despite earning more than Gnonto, who has been a great addition.
The amount Leeds spent on Rasmus Kristensen’s signing
For a reputed £10 million, Orta and Marsch made their second summer transfer window move of that summer, swooping to grab the full-back from Austrian powerhouse Red Bull Salzburg.
The Leeds head coach stated at the time of the transfer that he was “convinced” the Danish enforcer would develop into a “great” right-back in the Premier League.
However, those remarks were made during the defender’s successful season with Salzburg in the Bundesliga in the 2021–2022 season, which before his move to England.
In the Austrian top division that season, Kristensen started 29 league games and made an impression with his outstanding attacking contributions as a right-back, contributing seven goals, three assists, and seven “big chances” created.
Additionally, Bundesliga strikers barely dribbled past him 0.4 times per game. This implied that the £10 million-rated player was a reliable full-back who wingers had trouble getting past on the wings.
All things considered, Leeds seemed to have acquired a fantastic young right-back who could be a threat at the top of the pitch, both with goals and assists, and who was also a reliable defender who made it difficult for opponents to get past him.
Premier League statistics for Rasmus Kristensen
Sadly, he suffered during his first season in England as the Whites were demoted to the Championship, demonstrating how poorly those traits translated to life in the Premier League.
According to Capology, the Denmark international made £40,000 a week during the 2022–2023 season, or over £2 million.
This indicates that Leeds paid £12 million in total for his services last season—transfer fee and salary combined—and that his on-field accomplishments did not justify the expense.
With his attacking and defensive play in the English premier league, Kristensen left a lot to be desired, and the team spent that money on him.
His play at both ends of the game declined dramatically after moving from Austria to the Premier League, as the table above illustrates. He was less creative than before and made it simpler for rival forwards to beat him in duels and dribbles.
Actually, among the Leeds players from the previous season, only Marc Roca (1.4) and Luke Ayling (1.5) were dribbled past more times per game than Kristensen.
Additionally, the Danish defender did not place among the top three scorers at the team for tackles, interceptions, blocks, or aerial duels won per game. In April 2023, Yorkshire Post writer Leon Wobschall lambasted the Danish defender for his “appalling” defensive performance against Liverpool.
With his lacklustre performances on the field at both ends, Leeds ultimately squandered £12 million on the full-back. Last summer, they sent him on loan to Roma, where he has started 16 Serie A games this season.
Leeds statistics by Wilfried Gnonto
Around the same time that Kristensen was brought in, in the summer of 2022, the Whites acquired Gnonto from Zurich for an alleged meagre £3.8 million.
The Italian teenager’s Premier League salary for Leeds last season was £20,000 per week, according to Capology. That’s half of what the Danish right-back made at Elland Road.
Despite the club’s comparatively low investment in the youthful talent, Gnonto made an impression on the team with two goals and four assists in 14 starts in the top division.
The right-footed dynamo was brought in as a long-term project, and although his attacking contributions were insufficient to keep the squad in the league, his performance in the Championship this season indicates that his potential is now being realised.
The table below shows how well the 20-year-old shooter has performed for the Whites this season, both as a goal scorer and a playmaker.
In 14 Championship starts, Gnonto has directly contributed to eight goals for Daniel Farke’s team, which is more than one every other start on average.
Thus, in comparatively little playing time over the last two seasons, the outstanding winger has provided quality for Leeds in both the Premier League and the second division after signing a £3.8 million, £20,000-per-week contract.
On the other hand, Kristensen was “awful” in the Premier League despite being signed for £10 million on a salary of £40,000 per week. This shows how much of a fool Orta and Marsch were with that acquisition.
In order to recover some of the money lost on the bust during the next summer transfer window, the Whites may now be looking to cash in on him, whether it is to Roma or another team.
