Leeds United might have felt that last weekend’s enthralling 4-3 victory over Ipswich Town would kickstart their Championship campaign, but Daniel Farke’s side failed to capitalise on their opportunities against Sheffield Wednesday today.
Drawing 0-0 at Elland Road, the Whites have now only secured victory once across five league outings this term since suffering relegation from the Premier League earlier this year, having also exited the Carabao Cup this week after losing on penalties to League Two side Salford City.
Farke will be confident that the outfit can string together a convincing run of form after the forthcoming international break, but the club are currently mired in midtable mediocrity after five matches.
A contributing, perhaps definitive, factor to the side’s troubles lies in the mass exodus this summer, though such is to have been expected after bowing out of the top flight.
A wealth of acquisitions have been made and Farke will now feel that he wields a squad moulded closer to his own creation, and while there were promising signs through chance creation and the quality in possession, Leeds did not combine the cogs and indeed remain below the expectations demanded by the devoted fanbase.
How did Djed Spence perform against Sheffield Wednesday?
The Athletic’s Phil Hay said that Leeds needed “invention and ideas against a disciplined Wednesday block“, and despite controlling possession and fashioning a plethora of openings, were not able to bypass the Owls’ dogged defensive display, with the newly-promoted side claiming their first point of the campaign.
Despite only entering the field of play in the closing period of the match, full-back Djed Spence – making his debut after signing on loan from Tottenham Hotspur earlier this week – impressed during his cameo and staked his claim for a regular starting berth.
Indeed, hailed for his “terrific” performance by reporter Graham Smyth, the 6 foot sensation replaced Luke Ayling in the 81st minute and earned a match rating of 7.0 – as per Sofascore – completing 100% of his passes (9/9), taking one shot, making one tackle, winning five of his seven ground duels and succeeding with two of his three attempted dribbles.
The £4m-rated gem’s dribbling ability will be crucial to Farke’s plans this year, using his electric pace to barrel up the right channel, with Smyth also remarking at the 23-year-old’s “pace and strength to bulldoze the ball forward” as he attempted to secure victory for his new outfit.
The Yorkshire Evening Post journalist also wrote, ‘Looked very difficult to dispossess. Quick and strong. Will be a dynamic presence for Leeds’, emphasising a quality that Ayling does not offer.
While the campaign is still inside its embryonic stage, Farke looks to have secured a top-class right-back in Spence, and while the start to the season has not borne fruit for the Whites, the German manager certainly looks to have made the requisite signings to restore the cohesion and fluidity at Elland Road.
The international break can now be utilised to devise a plan of action and a forward route, and after such a promising display in his opening appearance, Spence could cement a prominent role in the team.
