The Beckham-esque banger that shows Leeds United’s Summerville replacement is destined for the top

Largie Ramazani of UD Almeria and Nawaf Al-Aqidi of Al Nassr during the Friendly football match between UD Almeria and Al-Nassr on 8 August 2024 at Power Horse Stadium in Almeria, Spain

Leeds United have finally found their replacement for Crysencio Summerville – and on the evidence of this absolute banger he scored for Almeria, the Manchester United academy graduate has the mix of brilliance and bravado required to step into the shoes of the Championship’s Player of the Year.

“Leeds summer in which they have sold some of their best individuals while keeping a manager who relies on individuals rather than a real style of play seemed laced with risk,” tweeted Athletic journalist Adam Crafton in the wake of their underwhelming opening weekend draw at home to newly-promoted Portsmouth.

It’s arguably an overly harsh assessment of a manager who delivered a 90-point tally last season, but even Daniel Farke’s biggest acolytes would likely concede there’s more than a grain of truth in that assessment.

Building solid foundations for Leeds’ array of outstanding attack-minded individuals to make the difference was a largely effective gameplan; Summerville and Rutter routinely delivered in terms of finishing and creating, respectively.

Crafton tweeted that before the departure of Rutter, a diabolical 3-0 League Cup defeat at home to Middlesbrough and a hard-fought 0-0 draw away to West Brom, in which Leeds were organised but struggling to piece anything together in the attacking third.

But it begs the question – take out those players and what are Farke’s Leeds left with? Not a lot, on the evidence of the goalless draw at The Hawthorns.

This is where the recruitment team have to earn their keep. The players brought in at this late stage of the transfer window better be good, because they’ll likely have a make-or-break influence on Leeds’ promotion prospects.

So step forward, Largie Ramazani.

Hell of a goal, right? Almost a carbon copy of the goal that essentially launched David Beckham into the wider public consciousness, setting him on the path to international fame, glory, and everything that comes with that.

If we’re being pedantic, it does bounce before it hits the back of the net. Just. Beckham’s somehow squeezed under the crossbar but still had the horizontal trajectory to bother the back of the net before it hit the ground, making it aesthetically gorgeous.

However, Ramazani’s stonker is from about ten yards further back than Becks’, and the goals at Almeria seem much deeper than Wimbledon’s 1996 nets. For those reasons, we’re giving this round to Ramazani.

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Ramazani, like Beckham, is a winger. Wingers in 2024 are different to wingers in 1996. They have to be more versatile. It’s not just a case of beating your fullback and whipping in a cross anymore, no matter how much we pine for those days. Leeds’ new Belgian star can play on both wings or up top—a classic modern-day multitool attacker.

El Gol Digital,a Spanish media outlet has done some digging on the Belgian’s stats in La Liga. They say,

“Hisimpact on expected goals and assists, ranking in the 70th percentile, and hisassists in the 71st percentile, reveal a significant influence in creating and directly contributing to scoring chances, suggesting that he plays a crucial role in his team’s attack.”

Reading deeper into some of his other stats, it would appear that Ramazani tends to create those chances by dribbling past players, taking defenders out of the game and creating overloads, as opposed to playing carefully placed passes between the lines.

Leeds might well have a star on their hands then, it seems. Ramazani has the vision to score from well in his own half, he’s used to England, having come up through Manchester United’s academy, and he has that rare ability to beat a man or two. He’ll have to be at the top of his game to replace Summerville and Rutter, but Leeds fans can begin to feel the warm glow of hope again as Ramazani touches down in Yorkshire.