Good Morning. It's Thursday 10th October, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Barcelona do NOT owe Leeds money for Raphinha
Speculation that La Liga pacesetters Barcelona may still owe Leeds £40m regarding the sale of Raphinha have been rubbished in the Spanish press. Raphinha 27, joined Barcelona during the Summer of 2022 in a deal worth £55m after add-ons, which according to new reports are all paid up, so why is there a £40m discrepancy in their accounts regarding the Brazilian ace?
The most feasible answer is that the money is owed to a creditor. At the time of the transfer, the Catalan outfit were in heavy debt, and wanted to stagger the payments over several years. This wasn't acceptable to Leeds, who then opened talks with Chelsea about a similar deal, albeit upfront payment. This forced Barcelona's hand. They obviously had to borrow the cash to close the deal.
Leeds top most shots on target stats
Leeds have produced the most shots on target so far this season of any Championship side, according to statistical data from 'fbref.com'. On average, the Whites hit the target 4.78 times a game, or 43 times in total (1st), which have accumulated in fifteen goals (joint 3rd) so far. As we know, Leeds can be wasteful in front goal. In total, they have had 131 attempts (joint second) giving them a 32.8% attempt to on-target ratio (8th), and are 9th when dividing shots on target vs goals.
Whites tight at the back
It's fair to say that Leeds are a hardworking team. They have conceded the least amount of shots of any Championship team, restricting their opposition to 7.33 shots per game, from which 2.11 are on-target (3rd). West Brom, Burnley, Sheffield Utd, Sunderland and Swansea City all have better goals per shot (and shots on target v goals) than the Whites.
