Leeds United have bought both for the present and the future this summer, and Daniel Farke could be set to supplement the latter once again should they reignite their permanent interest in an old target…
Who are Leeds United signing this summer?
With Scottish teenager Lewis Pirie marking their first foray of the window, his acquisition prefaced the two senior signings of Ethan Ampadu and Karl Darlow, which have bolstered their ranks massively.
In what promises to be a huge period of revolution, which will hopefully provoke an instant Premier League return, the long-term must be taken care of to ensure their stay will be longer than their last.
As such, they could seek to once again try and snag youngster Kian Breckin from Manchester City, as a starlet ready for gradual embedding into a first-team now.
Such is the quality of the 19-year-old gem, he has drawn attention from Newcastle United and even Barcelona in recent years too.
Who is Kian Breckin?
Although yet to feature for Pep Guardiola’s senior side, the teenager has been a mainstay across City’s various youth teams, shining for all.
This culminated in his most recent campaign, in which he starred for the U21 side littered with top prospects; he scored eight times and assisted a further four in the league.
Sports journalist Aadam Patel had earmarked him as someone ready to take that next step just the year prior, and it seems that with each year he edges closer to the level required to star in a first team. He wrote on Twitter: “Kian Breckin is one to watch out for.”
However, arguably the biggest praise reserved from the former Wycombe Wanderers loanee came from scout Yuki Tamaru, who suggested that his style resembled City’s legendary creator:
“Quality players. Kian Breckin resembles [Kevin] De Bruyne in the way he uses half space and activates the space behind the opposition fullbacks.”
Given how the Belgian midfielder has shone across his tenure at the Etihad, this is arguably the greatest compliment a young player can receive.
Last season saw the 32-year-old record 41 goal contributions across all competitions, as he would play key roles in each of the three trophies they won.
His 7.78 average rating in the Premier League was also the highest of anyone in the entire division and was bolstered by the 31 big chances he created, and 3.1 key passes recorded per game, via Sofascore.
This unsurprisingly has garnered praise, with pundit Jamie Redknapp even suggesting he will go down as one of the all-time greats:
“I just feel with all his attributes, I’ve never seen anyone pass the ball so beautifully. His football IQ, the way he sees gaps and threads through passes with such pinpoint accuracy.
“I haven’t seen it before. The goals he scores, he’s a beautiful striker of the ball; for me, he’s the greatest.”
Whilst Breckin has a long way to go before he can emulate even the slightest bit of such a stunning career, his profile on Man City’s official website helps emphasise these similarities further as he is described as a “cultured attacking midfielder” who is “comfortable at receiving the ball in tight areas”; a trait he is clearly famed for.
Perhaps a permanent switch to Elland Road could give him the crucial game time to start on that long road towards succeeding De Bruyne, although the club will have to offer a sizable bid to cut short his impending loan spell to Wycombe Wanderers.
