Leeds flop is becoming a bigger waste of money than Rodrigo & Sinisterra

Daniel Farke continues to fight back against previous Premier League critics in the Leeds United hot seat.

Indeed, question marks have always been there regarding the German’s suitability to the daunting top-flight, with only ten career wins in the tense division next to his name making him stand out as a manager more used to EFL success.

Yet, having recently masterminded a win and a draw over Chelsea and Liverpool, and a hard-fought point against Brentford was secured last time out, the under-fire boss has certainly won himself more time in the Elland Road dug-out.

Still, even he won’t be happy with one big underperformer in his ranks. He’s up there with high-profile flops Rodrigo and Luis Sinisterra before him.

Why Rodrigo & Sinisterra were a waste of money at Leeds

Looking at the table above, Leeds would feel they have a compelling argument to state that a large portion of their most expensive recruits have been hits, rather than misses.

For example, both Georginio Rutter and Dan James stood out as firm fan favourites when Leeds routinely competed in the Championship, with a stunning 77 goal contributions collected between the entertaining attacking duo at Elland Road.

The jury is still out on Brenden Aaronson’s £28.5m price tag, but he does have a promotion next to his name, with the 25-year-old also up to three goal contributions for the season, showing off glimpses of his quality.

Both Rodrigo and Sinisterra are likely to be dismissed as flops, though, when remembering their spells, with the combined £47m spent on their services arguably wasted.

For their big fees, a lot more would have been anticipated, with the Spain international a hit-and-miss presence throughout his 97-game spell, considering he mustered up just 13 goals across his first two Premier League seasons. He would also boast a steep £100k-per-week wage.

Sinisterra’s stint would also go by in an underwhelming blur, with only 28 games falling into his lap in West Yorkshire. His five goals in Premier League action during his solitary season up North also couldn’t save his employers from the drop, with the bumper deal leaving a bad taste in the mouth.

Still, with 36 goals tallied up collectively, there are some rays of positivity to hang onto from their forgettable playing days, unlike this man..

Leeds have a bigger waste of money than Rodrigo and Sinisterra

On another occasion, Leeds could well have run out as winners at the G-Tech Community Stadium.

Farke’s visitors mustered up 15 shots next to the hosts’ eight, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin thankfully bailed the Premier League newcomers out again.

While the former Everton striker continues to impress after moving on a free transfer, the same cannot be said for Lucas Perri, who looked shaky once more in between the sticks for the away side, after a major £13.9m move from Lyon in the summer.

Worryingly, only eight of Perri’s 30 passes reached their intended target against Brentford, with the “dreadful” ‘keeper – as content creator Lewis Deighton lambasted his distribution post-match – also only completing one save all match, leading to Jordan Henderson powering home his first ever Bees strike past the ropey stopper.

For £13.9m, considering last season saw Leeds curse Illan Meslier’s error-prone performances in goal, the newly promoted side would have expected Perri to be a far more solid performer than he currently has shown, with his last clean sheet for the club coming all the way back in August.

With a £50k-per-week wage also thrown into the mix, which makes him a higher earner than both Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu, who take home a lesser £40k-per-week pay packet each, it isn’t ludicrous to suggest from his early days in West Yorkshire so far that Perri is going down the route of being a bigger waste of money than both Rodrigo and Sinisterra, as more errors in between the sticks could prove to be Leeds’ undoing in the relegation fight.

After all, former Leeds player Jon Newsome has even come out already to criticise the signing as “wasted funds” on the end of the 49ers, with Perri likely to go down as a miss, as opposed to a hit, in the transfer department, if he can’t turn around his dismal narrative soon.

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