Why Leeds United need not push too hard for Yan Dhanda in January

According to the Daily Mail (h/t Leeds Live), Leeds United have been credited with an interest in Swansea City attacking midfielder Yan Dhanda.

The 22-year-old has also attracted interest from Swansea’s Championship rivals Bournemouth, who have identified the former Liverpool prospect as a replacement for David Brooks. It has been claimed that Leeds could look to replace Tyler Roberts with a swoop for the former England U-17 international this month. (Daily Mail h/t Leeds Live)

Profile

Born in Birmingham to Indian parents, Yan Dhanda started his footballing education at West Brom before joining Liverpool at the youth level in 2013. The playmaker made a name for himself for the Reds U-23 side at the Premier League 2 level, scoring 5 times in 22 appearances, after initially rising to prominence with the U-18s.

Dhanda departed for Swansea in 2018 with the hope of a quicker route to first-team football and scored once in 5 appearances for the club in the Championship that season. He assumed a bigger role last term, scoring thrice in 17 league appearances for Steve Cooper’s side. 

The youngster has continued to impress in the ongoing campaign, registering a goal and an assist in 12 appearances so far. Dhanda has started 9 games already, enjoying a lot more involvement than he has done in his last two seasons at the Liberty Stadium. 

Leeds’ woes in the top-flight

Leeds United spent a fortune to revamp their squad in the summer after returning to the Premier League. But it has been evident from how things have panned out for Marcelo Bielsa’s side in the top-flight so far that they still have squad depth issues in several departments.

Indeed, bringing in defensive reinforcements should be high on the club’s agenda in January after conceding 34 goals in 18 games. Having said that, however, Leeds have also struggled to break the opposition down in recent weeks. 

The Whites’ 3-0 humiliation against fourth-tier outfit Crawley Town in the FA Cup further underlines the need for significant improvement at both ends of the pitch.

Patrick Bamford has been an obvious bright spark in the final third but the likes of Helder Costa and Rodrigo Moreno have both struggled for consistency. With Pablo Hernandez pretty much a marginalised figure these days, it goes without saying that Leeds need more options in the attack.

Dhanda might not be ready for the PL

Yan Dhanda has certainly made great strides in his development under Steve Cooper at Swansea City over the past couple of years. But an overall tally of just 5 goals and 3 assists in 39 appearances isn’t eye-watering by any stretch of the imagination.

Moreover, he is yet to establish himself as a regular starter in South Wales, meaning that he still has a lot to prove at the Championship level. 

Leeds need attacking reinforcements and could certainly do with an upgrade on Tyler Roberts. Dhanda, though an exciting young player with good potential, doesn’t fit the bill as an instant upgrade on the existing options at Elland Road. The Whites already have so many homegrown prospects knocking on the door for a first-team role.

Read More

• Why Leeds should sign Mainz star Jean-Philippe Mateta to boost their attack
• Why Leeds should not indulge in a January battle with AC Milan for Kouadio Kone

Verdict

Having said that, Leeds United would be better off looking at other avenues if they are genuinely looking to bolster their attack this month. Dhanda might not be a bad acquisition given his potential. But there are serious doubts over whether he would be able to make an instant impact in the top-flight that the club so badly need.