LUIS SINISTERRA
Leeds just aren't stopping. They've made their sixth signing of the summer as the Jesse Marsch revolution continues, and this time they've snapped up Luis Sinisterra from Feyenoord.
In 18/19 and 19/20, the Colombian showed promise, but last season he exploded into life. 12 goals and 7 assists in the Eredivisie and starring in Feyenoord's run to the Europa Conference League finals had heads turning in his direction.
Leeds will be hoping he can help replace Raphinha, who looks to be moving on. The 23 year old has the ability to be pretty special, let's take a look at why
breaking the opposition
What makes Sinisterra special is his dribbling ability. It's the first thing that catches the eye when you see him play. He's absolutely electric. And he combines this speed with fancy footwork and devilish change of direction.
Playing on the left of a 4231, the Colombian is often charged with leading his team on the transition through both his passing and carrying. And when he's in the final third he's incredibly direct.
You'll often see him start wide, but his ultimate aim is to get into left half space highlighted below. From here he's got a few options:
WHITE: This is always his first choice. He's looking to isolate his defender and get into a 1v1 situation. From here, the aim is to drive at the defender, cut inside on to his right foot and work a bit of space to get a shot away. This is what he loves and he's very good at it
YELLOW: If the inside is blocked up, he's comfortable enough going on the outside and getting to the by-line. Once he's there he's firing in cut backs for the on rushing attackers.
His relationship with Malacia, Til and Kokcu are crucial in enabling to get 1v1 with defenders. The runners off the ball provide the distraction and overload for him to attack his man. And, he's also got the ability to slip a through ball to the runners attacking the space on occasion.
He also has the movement to run in behind and make those curved runs in between the full backs and centre backs that we love. Feyenoord are a brilliant transition team and he uses this effectively at times (although room for improvement here).
It's simple in its execution, but he looks very good doing it. Once in stride he's hard to stop and those quick feet allowing him to go both ways make him a defenders nightmare. And this shows up in the stats too:
Players have these coming of age seasons, and that is exactly what Sinisterra has had at Feyenoord this past season. He's found that end product to go with his speed and dribbling ability so Leeds will be expecting him to fly when he arrives at Elland Road.
defensive work
Another positive for Leeds is the fact that Sinisterra is joining from a high pressing Feyenoord side so he understands the importance of putting a shift in.
His role at Feyenoord is usually one of two things. He's either going into a full press looking to win the ball from the opposition or force them backwards or he's blocking passing lanes in the half space to force teams to shuttle the ball to the full backs. From here he's then ready to put on a full press or continue to block the path to an outball.
He's also not afraid to track back and put a shift in running back to his own goal. We can see this show up in the stats as well:
He still has some development to do on this side of the game though. At times he has been a bit late in reacting to the triggers to press his man, and it enables the opposition to escape but he's got the attributes to flourish in a pressing system so in time it'll come.
replacing raphinha
It's hard to overstate the impact that Raphinha has had on Leeds since arriving from Rennes a few years ago. He lit up Elland Road (and plenty of away grounds as well) in his first season as part of Bielsa's all action side that had Leeds fans and many neutrals salivating. His first season was all about his creativity, he of course contributed goals as well, with his main aim laying the ball on a plate for Bamford.
His second season was different- he was the man who had to carry Leeds in order to avoid relegation. He continued with the same level of creativity but also scored 11 goals. Losing him was inevitable, and replacing him is a near impossible task.
That's the job facing Luis Sinisterra. The young Colombian has a lot to do to fill the sizable gap left by his South American counterpart. Let's start with the obvious, Raphinha is a right winger, and Sinisterra is best as a left winger so clearly there is going to be rejigging in that Leeds attack. It's possibly it may fall to Harrison to switch sides, and become an inverted winger, with Kristensen bombing down the outside of him.
Regardless, that's a team balance issue for Marsch to solve. But in terms of getting a man to provide the spark that Raphinha does, it looks as if Leeds have picked wisely judging by the stats
Now the stats are influenced by the teams they played in - Raphinha, a struggling Leeds side, and Sinisterra a better team that compete for Europe - but they do shine a light that Sinisterra has the ability to be a high quality replacement for Raphinha.
It's important to note that they are different types of players with different skill sets. Leeds aren't buying a Raphinha regen. The Brazilian operates tighter to the touchline, drives up the pitch and uses his wand of a left foot to spray passes. Sinisterra generally plays higher up the pitch and is super direct looking to dribble at the box. But if Sinisterra can bring his Eredivisie form over to England with him, and importantly, if the other signings can chip in to replace some of what Raphinha did bring - Leeds may be in business.
pl suitability
Now he's not the finished article yet, which is no surprise as he's only 23 and coming off the back of his first starring season. When attacking he can be a little too bloody minded with taking on his man and trying to get a shot away meaning he misses some possible passing options. He can also improve his off the ball movement to make more runs in behind, he's okay at this but it could be used more frequently and that comes down to awareness. But these are things that can be ironed out in the longer term.
Sinisterra has the ability to thrive in the Premier League. It may take some time for him to settle as we see with some Eredivisie players coming to English football. He'll need to get used to the extra physicality in the league and taking the occasional (or not so occasional) kick from defenders. Once he can get over any initial acclimatisation, he could light up the league.
For Leeds, the success of Sinisterra is obviously critical. Losing Raphinha is a bitter blow, and they'll need someone to replace the magic he brings. Marc Roca, Aaronson, Adams and Kristensen will help make them a more well rounded team but it's Sinisterra's job to provide the x factor.