Leeds United travel away from Elland Road to take on Fulham at Craven Cottage in their latest Premier League match of the season after the international break.
The Whites could face off against Harry Wilson after they failed to get a deal over the line for the Wales international on the final day of the summer transfer window.
Leeds reportedly met Fulham’s asking price for the left-footed forward before the Cottagers decided to pull the plug on the move, which meant that the club were unable to get a forward signing through the door.
It did not come as a surprise to hear Daniel Farke talk about wanting attacking reinforcements after watching the opening three matches of the Premier League season.
Starts
3
3
Goals + assists
0
0
Shots on target
0
0
Key passes
1
2
Big chances created
0
0
Dribble success rate
17%
33%
As you can see in the table above, Dan James and Wilfried Gnonto have both failed to make the step up to the Premier League so far, with zero shots on target and zero ‘big chances’ created, despite starting all three games.
Along with Wilson, the Championship champions were also keen on a deal to sign Facundo Buonanotte on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion, but they also missed out on him.
Why missing out on Buonanotte was a blow for Leeds
Chelsea swooped in to sign the attacking midfielder in the final throes of the transfer window, which essentially blew Leeds out of the water, given the size of their competition.
The Argentine talent swiftly completed a loan move to Stamford Bridge, subsequently being left out of their squad for the league phase of the Champions League, and that was a blow for the Whites.
Buonanotte spent the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Leicester City and proved himself to be more than capable of producing quality at the top end of the pitch in the Premier League as an attacking midfielder and as a winger.
The 20-year-old talent had scored three goals and provided one assist in 27 outings in the top-flight for Brighton in the previous season, per Sofascore, and upped his game for his loan spell with the Foxes.
Appearances
31
Starts
14
xG
3.93
Goals
5
Key passes
25
Big chances created
7
Assists
2
As you can see in the table above, Buonanotte racked up 12 goals and ‘big chances’ created combined in 31 appearances in the Premier League, despite starting less than half of those matches.
These statistics suggest that the Argentina international had the potential to deliver quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals for Farke’s side, either as a number ten or as a right-sided forward.
Therefore, it was a blow for Leeds to lose to Chelsea in the race to secure his services on a season-long loan because he could have offered the quality at the top end of the pitch that the team seems to be lacking at this moment in time.
Buonanotte could have come in as an upgrade on Dan James, for example, on the right flank after the Wales international’s disappointing start to the campaign.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
Farke could, though, unearth his own version of Buonanotte by promoting one of the club’s talented young prospects up from the U21 side in the coming weeks.
The German head coach has consistently shown a willingness to bring through young talent throughout his career, including Max Aarons, James Maddison, Todd Cantwell, Archie Gray, and Mateo Joseph, among others.
Leeds United teenager Connor Douglas, who primarily plays on the right flank, could be one of the next players to emerge from the pipeline in Farke’s managerial career.
Why Douglas could be Farke's own Buonanotte
Like Buonanotte, the English whiz is a young attacker who has the versatility to play in a myriad of roles. Per Transfermarkt, he usually plays off the right wing, but the 19-year-old talent has also played on the left, as a striker, as a central midfielder, and as an attacking midfielder.
This makes him fairly similar to the Brighton youngster, who has mainly played as a right-sided winger or as a number ten, but he has also played off the left and as a central midfielder, per Transfermarkt.
Douglas, therefore, can operate in similar positions and can offer Farke the same flexibility that the Argentina international would have provided if the club had managed to bring him in on loan for the season.
At the age of 19, he is also another young player who has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and learn as a player, which means that he could grow and improve by gaining more experience in the Premier League with the first-team.
PureFootball writer Trent Gaffney described Douglas as an “electric” forward who is a “joy to watch”, which is also interesting because Leicester reporter Jordan Blackwell hailed Buonanotte as a “joy to watch” last season.
This suggests that both players are mercurial attacking midfielders who supporters love to watch play because they are technical, quick, and like to impact matches with the ball at their feet.
Appearances
119
60
Minutes
6,266
3,989
Goals
15
11
Minutes per goal
417
362
Assists
7
8
Minutes per assist
895
498
As you can see in the table above, Douglas may even have the potential to make a greater impact at the top end of the pitch if he can find a way to translate his form at U18 and U21 level over to first-team football.
He has yet to make his senior bow for Leeds, or any other club, whilst Buonanotte has already established himself as a Premier League talent, to his credit.
Now that the Whites have missed out on a deal to sign the Argentine magician, Farke should dip into the academy side to unleash this promising prospect to see if he has what it takes to be the next James Maddison or Archie Gray.
