Leeds United are in desperate need of a turnaround in their Premier League season to avoid relegation and the arrival of newly-appointed manager Javi Gracia will be the supporters’ last hope.
The Whites are currently 19th in the top-flight table following their disappointing defeat to Everton last weekend and now a victory over Southampton at Elland Road on Saturday will be essential to the club’s chances of falling back into the Championship next season.
The 52-year-old Spaniard has a difficult 15 fixtures ahead of him considering the poor form the Leeds squad have displayed over the season so far, however, with 45 points to play for, there is still an opportunity to survive with a comfortable finish if the manager can get a tune out of the key players in the team.
One player who could thrive and develop under the management of Gracia is American midfielder Weston McKennie who joined on loan in January but hasn’t had a real opportunity to unleash his full potential in the Premier League as of yet.
In fact, it has been reported today that a permanent move to Elland Road at the end of the season could be in danger due to the nature of the situation that Leeds have found themselves in, in recent weeks.
Upon his arrival in west Yorkshire, it was revealed that Leeds would have the option to buy McKennie for £30m with an obligation clause in place should certain undisclosed criteria be met, however, this could all change if things don’t improve.
As a result, Gracia must make an instant impact and nurture the talents of the World Cup star over his window of opportunity with the player until the end of the season and could even unearth his next Abdoulaye Doucoure in the process.
Could McKennie be Gracia’s next Doucoure?
There is no doubt that McKennie has the quality to be a success at Elland Road, something he proved over the first half of the season in the Serie A with his parent club Juventus.
Over 15 league appearances, the 24-year-old sensation – hailed “dangerous” by fellow American Clint Dempsey – scored one goal, registered one assist, created three big chances and successfully completed 78% of his dribbles, as well as averaging 20.5 accurate passes and 2.7 duels won per game, proving that he is an incredibly progressive and attacking-minded midfielder.
Those are attributes that could make him the perfect central prospect for Gracia to mould into his very own Doucoure, a player who thrived under the management of Gracia at Watford before making a move to Everton in 2020.
Gracia was renowned for his narrow 4-2-2-2 formation at Watford, in which Doucoure would play as a fluid midfielder behind the two number tens, improving the team’s ability to get into dangerous positions more frequently and improving link-up play through the centre of the pitch, a style of play that could transform Leeds’ stale and inefficient performances.
Doucoure and McKennie have shared many similarities in their output over this season so far with both proving to be bullish central assets capable of dictating and linking the player.
Indeed, they match closely in their short (83.1% v 82.1%) and medium (86.4% v 85%) pass completion rate, tackles won (7 v 6), take-on success (66.7% v 72.7%) and shot-creating actions per 90 minutes (1.81 v 1.41).
As a result, if the Leeds boss could finally get the best out of McKennie over the remainder of the season it could make a huge difference in the club’s challenge for survival in the Premier League, with the manager potentially set to unearth another Doucoure upon the top-flight.
