Leeds United moved to ten points behind Ipswich Town on Tuesday night as they were beaten 1-0 by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
The Whites failed to pick up any points on Wearside, whilst the Tractor Boys beat Watford 2-1, and the gap between themselves and the top two will be ten points if Leicester City win their match on Wednesday.
Daniel Farke’s side have won nine of their last 12 Championship games but the incredible form of the two teams above them has left them miles away from the automatic promotion places.
They are aiming to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking and will need a degree of luck, in terms of the results of the current top two, alongside a strong run of form for the rest of the campaign.
The January transfer window is fast approaching and Farke may look to work with Nick Hammond to bolster his playing squad to provide a boost ahead of the second half of the season.
Leeds transfer news – Trai Hume
TEAMtalk reported earlier this month that the Whites are one of a number of teams eyeing up impressive Sunderland full-back Trai Hume.
Premier League side Burnley are also said to be looking at the talented young defender, whilst Championship outfit Leicester are also in the mix to land his signature.
The report stated that the Black Cats could be tempted to cash in on him in January if they can make a significant profit on the £200k they paid Linfield to sign him last year.
All three of the interested parties are said to be looking closely at the Northern Ireland international as they ponder a swoop to sign him at the start of 2024.
However, he put pen to paper on a new contract with Sunderland over the summer and is contracted through to the summer of 2027, with the option to extend it by a further 12 months.
It, therefore, remains to be seen how much the Black Cats would demand for his services, along with how much Leeds would be willing to pay in January.
The Whites have been hit with a host of full-back injuries this season. Sam Byram is set to miss three weeks with a hamstring blow that was suffered against Blackburn Rovers, whilst Jamie Shackleton has a glute issue and Junior Firpo is ‘close’ to a return to first-team training.
On-loan Tottenham Hotspur right-back Djed Spence also missed eight weeks with a knee injury that was sustained back in September and made his first start of the season, at left-back, against Sunderland.
Farke must now push for Hammond and the club to seal a deal for Hume as he could be an excellent addition to their full-back ranks, as he illustrated with a phenomenal display against Crysencio Summerville on Tuesday night.
Hume’s performance against Leeds in numbers
The 21-year-old starlet lined up on the right of his side’s back five at the Stadium of Light and dominated the Dutch winger with a sublime defensive performance.
Hume recorded a game-high Sofascore rating of 7.8 as he showcased his fantastic quality as a defender with numerous key interventions to prevent Anthony Patterson from being troubled.
The former Linfield star made three clearances, two blocks, four interceptions, four tackles, and made one clearance off the line to stop Joel Piroe from scoring.
Leeds’ Dutch forward worked space for a shot in the box and saw his goalbound effort hooked away on the line by the hard-working full-back, who positioned himself perfectly to clear the danger.
Hume’s exceptional defending meant that Summerville ended the match without a goal or a single ‘big chance’ created in his 90 minutes out on the left wing.
Crysencio Summerville’s season in numbers
This was an impressive achievement for the Northern Irish gem as the Leeds forward had produced nine goals and ten ‘big chances’ created in 15 league starts ahead of the match – a goal or a ‘big chance’ created every 0.83 starts on average.
The 22-year-old whiz has provided 2.9 key passes and completed 2.6 dribbles per game respectively – the most within the squad in both statistics – and this illustrates how exciting he has been at the top end of the pitch.
Farke’s electric forward has been a consistent threat in the final third with his ability to score goals and create chances at an exceptional rate.
However, Hume was able to stop him from being a match-winner for Leeds at the Stadium of Light with his impressive blocks, tackles, and interceptions on the night, which led to him being described as “outstanding” by journalist Josh Bunting.
Trai Hume’s season in numbers
That display was not a flash in the pan as the 5 foot 11 EFL titan has consistently produced fantastic defensive performances for Sunderland this season.
The Whites target has started all 21 of his club’s matches in the Championship and has caught the eye with an incredible 5.1 tackles and interceptions per game.
Meanwhile, no Leeds player has managed more than 3.5 per match and no full-back at the club has produced more than 3.3 per outing.
22/23 Championship | Trai Hume (via Sofascore) |
|---|---|
Appearances | 28 |
Sofascore rating | 6.93 |
Assists | Two |
Tackles per game | 2.4 |
Interceptions per game | 1.3 |
Hume, who has averaged six ball recoveries per clash, has also scored one goal and created four ‘big chances’ from a right-back position, whilst makeshift right-back Archie Gray has zero goals and two ‘big chances’ created for Leeds in 20 appearances.
He also ranks within the top 24% of Championship full-backs this season for progressive passes (4.83) per 90, which shows that the Whites target offers quality in possession to go along with his sublime defensive work.
In fact, Hume ranks within the top 18% or higher of his positional peers for tackles (3.52), interceptions (1.74), blocks (1.59), and aerial duels won (2.46) per 90 this term.
The Sunderland star has proven himself to be a terrific performer at this level and this means that Leeds would be signing a player who has the quality to hit the ground running in the Championship.
Therefore, Farke must swoop to bring the Northern Ireland international to Elland Road as he could be an outstanding defensive option who is capable of locking up and dominating the opposition’s star players each week.
