Leeds United have recruited well this summer after a number of players departed Elland Road in the wake of relegation from the Premier League.
They waved goodbye to Tyler Adams on a permanent transfer to AFC Bournemouth whilst faces such as Brenden Aaronson, Jack Harrison, and Luis Sinisterra have all left temporarily on loan moves with their own level deemed higher than the cut and thrust of the Championship.
Out with the underperformers that caused Leeds to fall through the relegation trapdoor, and in with new fresh blood who are giving their all in a Whites shirt so far – signings such as Joel Piroe stick out, the ex-Swansea striker opting to join Leeds over reuniting with ex-manager Russell Martin at Southampton and netting seven in the process.
Ethan Ampadu and Joel Rodon have also ensured Leeds have a sense of solidity at the back, the leakiness that cost Leeds a Premier League spot – conceding 78 goals last season as the Whites crashed to relegation – is a thing of the past.
Daniel Farke’s side have only shipped 13 from 12 matches played, sitting pretty in 3rd spot in the Championship as it stands.
Yet, when you delve deeper into other transfer windows in recent memory, they have not all been successful. The 2017-18 transfer window in particular saw the Whites purchase Jay-Roy Grot, a player who ultimately failed to make the grade at Elland Road.
How much did Leeds United sign Jay-Roy Grot for?
Reportedly joining Leeds for a fee of £750k in 2017 from NEC Nijmegen in the Netherlands, the then 19-year-old struggled to adjust to the demands of English football from the get-go.
He would find it tough, going from a promising striker in the Eredivisie who had scored five goals from 20 matches played in his final season with NEC, to then having to find his feet in a demanding league in the Championship for an expectant Leeds United fanbase.
It would lead to the Dutch attacker not finding the back of the net for Leeds until March 2018 after putting pen on paper to join the club in August 2017, the 6 foot 5 striker scoring in a 2-1 home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
This would be his only goal in Leeds colours, shipped out on loan continually after his one solitary campaign at Elland Road until he would depart permanently in 2021 – relocating back to his native Netherlands with VVV-Venlo and Vitesse on loan, before joining VfL Osnabrück in Germany on a free transfer.
How has Jay-Roy Grot performed since leaving Leeds?
The Dutch striker, who has matured since leaving Leeds behind, has managed to turn his career around after a nightmare stop-off in West Yorkshire.
He has actually managed to outscore Patrick Bamford since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, owing to a fruitful campaign out in Denmark with Viborg FF.
Jay-Roy Grot’s numbers in the Superliga for Viborg during the 2022-23 season saw the Dutchman net nine goals from 19 matches played, scoring in four games on the trot to close out the season in style for his Danish employers at the time.
Contrast that with Bamford’s goalscoring output in that same season – the 30-year-old dud scoring four times from 28 Premier League matches – the 25-year-old former Leeds man has had one last laugh.
It’s even resulted in Jay-Roy Grot moving out to Japan to add another unconventional club to his resume, playing his football now for Kashiwa Reysol, whom he has three goals for to date. Meanwhile, the Leeds man is yet to get off the mark this season.
A forgotten man now around Elland Road, Jay-Roy Grot has managed to turn his career since departing a turbulent Whites side and has proven he can score goals across the world in eccentric new locations.
