Leeds United are currently competing to secure promotion back to the Premier League at the second time of asking in the Championship this season.
The Whites have only lost one of their opening nine matches in the division but are sat outside of the top two, having drawn four of the other eight outings.
Daniel Farke has never gone two successive seasons in the second tier without winning promotion, with two titles in three seasons in the league during his time with Norwich City.
The German head coach came ever so close to securing promotion in his first year in West Yorkshire, as his side lost 1-0 to Southampton at Wembley in the play-off final.
Leeds finished third in the Championship in the regular season but could not get the job done in the play-offs, losing to the Saints after beating Norwich over two legs.
The ex-Canaries head coach was brought in during the summer of 2023 after the Whites had been relegated under Sam Allardyce, who had been appointed as a firefighter after Javi Gracia and Jesse Marsch had both been sacked that season.
Leeds fell out of the Premier League a year after they cashed in on their star forward, Raphinha, who had been a huge success at Elland Road.
Raphinha's Leeds career in numbers
In the summer of 2020, Victor Orta and Marcelo Bielsa swooped to sign the Brazilian winger from Ligue 1 side Rennes for a reported fee of £17m to bolster the club’s attacking options.
Leeds had just been promoted from the Championship under the Argentine head coach and needed a bit of star power to avoid an instant relegation back down to the second tier.
Raphinha provided that with a return of six goals and nine assists in 30 appearances on the right flank in the Premier League, averaging a goal contribution every other game. He also could have had more assists as the gem created 12 ‘big chances’ for his teammates in total.
The left-footed magician then showcased his quality at the top end of the pitch once again in the 2021/22 campaign to keep Marsch’s side in the league, with a return of 11 goals and three assists in 35 games.
Appearances
35
Goals
11
Big chances created
10
Key passes
67
Assists
3
Dribbles completed
63
As you can see in the table above, Raphinha was let down by poor finishing from his teammates as they only scored three times from the 67 key passes and ten ‘big chances’ he created for them.
Barcelona then swooped to sign the Brazil international from Leeds for a reported fee of £55m at the end of the 2021/22 campaign, which left Marsch in need of a replacement for him on the flank.
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The American boss then made the move to sign Luis Sinisterra from Feyenoord ahead of the 2022/23 season in an attempt to replace the former Leeds superstar.
How much Leeds paid for Luis Sinisterra
The Whites reportedly splashed out a fee of £21m, more than they paid Rennes for Raphinha in 2020, and he was described as a replacement for the Brazilian whiz by The Athletic.
Whilst he was not a like-for-like replacement, as a right-footed left winger as opposed to a left-footed right winger, Leeds may have felt as though the Colombia international could replace the impact that the ex-Rennes star had on the pitch.
In the 2021/22 campaign, Sinisterra caught the eye with his outstanding performances for Feyenoord, with a return of 23 goals and 14 assists in 49 appearances in all competitions.
Journalist Josh Bunting claimed that Leeds had pulled off a “master stroke” by signing the winger, who he described as a “frightening” forward, and it is not hard to see why when you consider his incredible record for the Dutch side.
Appearances
30
Goals
12
Key passes
60
Big chances created
9
Assists
7
As you can see in the table above, Sinisterra had proven himself to be a fantastic scorer and creator of goals in the Dutch top-flight, as Raphinha had in the Premier League for the Whites.
Unfortunately, though, things did not quite work out for the former Eredivisie superstar during his relatively short time at Elland Road after attempting to replace the Brazilian sensation.
Luis Sinisterra's time with Leeds in numbers
The 25-year-old endured an injury-riddled season with the Whites under Marsch, Gracia, and Allardyce, as he suffered three separate injury issues that kept him out of action for a combined 16 competitive matches.
Those fitness problems restricted his involvement on the pitch and meant that he was unable to do enough to prevent Leeds from being relegated back down to the Championship, after they had survived in both of Raphinha’s seasons at the club.
Sinisterra did score five goals in his 19 appearances in the Premier League, which is not a dreadful return given it was in a struggling time, but he did not do enough to create for others.
The Colombian flop did not create a single ‘big chance’ for his teammates and ended the season with zero assists in 19 matches, with 0.5 key passes per game on average, which shows that he could not replace the immense creativity that Raphinha provided.
After Leeds were relegated from the top-flight, the forward decided that he did not want to commit to a full season in the second tier and joined Bournemouth on loan for the 2023/24 campaign.
Appearances
20
Starts
7
Goals
2
Assists
2
Big chances created
2
As you can see in the table above, Sinisterra’s injury problems restricted his involvement once again, as he only made 20 appearances and started just seven times.
Despite his lack of availability and his sporadic contributions in the final third, Bournemouth decided to sign him permanently earlier this year for a reported fee of £20m.
This meant that Leeds sold Sinisterra less than two years on from their swoop to sign him from Feyenoord, and he only spent one year at Elland Road after initially joining as a ‘frightening’ replacement for Raphinha.
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