Three Most Underrated Leeds United Players This Season
Even though they are still in a league they don’t want to be in, it’s hard to find a Leeds player who is underrated, as at this level, they are all very high profile.
It would be far easier to be a little cruel and list the players who are badly underperforming but, somebody has to make the list so here are the three, who in my opinion, probably deserve just a tad more credit for what they’ve achieved on a personal level this term:
Ezgjan Alioski
It’s not that he has been overlooked by fans or media in any way but in Kemar Roofe, people have a young English winger to get excited about and in Hernandez and Saiz, they have players who received tons of praise for what they achieved. But in and around the opposition box, you could argue they have not done what Alioski has done.
6 goals and 5 assists in the Championship this season from out wide means Alioski has contributed to a goal once every 227 minutes, which is no mean feat. He can only get better next year and that shows what sort of player he really is.
Kalvin Phillips
It’s not that Phillips goes unrecognised as such, however, the one thing I notice is that other than Pontus Jansson (who gets to sit at the back), nobody has played more Championship minutes than Phillips. So his contribution has been immense.
At 22 years of age fatigue absolutely plays a part when a guy plays 2600 minutes at this level by mid-March so any stats we see from him can essentially be upgraded slightly. Like Alioski, Phillips will only get better after a good holiday and a pre-season so watch out for any canny scouts from the Premier League taking a punt on him instead of going down the now well-trodden French/African/Spanish route.
Gaetano Berardi
Was not the first choice at left-back when Charlie Taylor was in the side but filled in admirably. Was not the first choice at right-back with Luke Ayling in the side but again fills in admirably and without whining.
It’s not as though he does this with a lack of quality either; nobody makes more interceptions per game on average than Berardi and without his versatility and quiet confidence, where would Leeds United be when injuries and sales take their toll?