Expectant Leeds United supporters packed into Elland Road couldn’t have dreamt up a better Easter Monday if they tried, with the Whites resoundingly beating Stoke City 6-0 whilst their promotion foes in Sheffield United suffered a slim 2-1 defeat away at Burnley.
Off the back of both important results, the West Yorkshire titans are now out of the grip of the Championship and heading back up to the top table, re-entering the Premier League in style, hopeful that Daniel Farke can help Leeds become a top-flight regular again.
This will be easier said than done, but the three-time promotion-winning German will hope his top performers from this brilliant win over Stoke can shine bright when stepping up a division.
Leeds’ star performers vs Stoke
The obvious place to start here is with Joel Piroe’s devastating attacking display as Leeds’ main marksman, with the Dutchman staggeringly putting Stoke to the sword with four first-half strikes.
Any worries that he was deep in a patch of poor form in front of goal quickly evaporated, resulting in the ex-Swansea City man now finding himself on a bumper 19 goals for the season and ready for the might of the Premier League.
Moreover, Jayden Bogle was equally gung-ho throughout down the left channel, with the full-back picking up an assist in the big win to play his part in promotion being sealed, as well as hitting the post in the build-up to Piroe’s fourth of a frantic afternoon.
But, there’s one face that is yet to be mentioned that put in another stunning display for the promotion winners. Perhaps he might be Leeds’ next Raphinha in the Premier League…
Farke’s very own Raphinha
Leeds will have to be proactive in the transfer market to ensure they stand a chance at consolidating themselves as a Premier League worthy club.
While not every capture the last time they were among the big boys went down a treat, a certain Raphinha was brought in as a statement buy way back in 2020 and it showed that the Whites were serious about staving off an immediate EFL return.
The spectacular Brazilian was nothing short of a sensation in Yorkshire, notching 17 goals and 12 assists in total for the Whites from 67 appearances, with 11 of those strikes coming during the 2021/22 campaign to help keep Leeds afloat in the top-flight.
Now at Barcelona, the Brazilian is among the best on the continent and is in with a genuine shot of winning the Ballon d’Or having scored 30 goals and registered 23 assists across 48 appearances.
Back in the EFL, Farke and Co will now be searching for their next Raphinha and they could find that by making Manor Solomon’s loan move a permanent one now promotion has been sealed.
An underrated but superb servant in helping Leeds earn a place back in the Premier League, the spellbinding Tottenham Hotspur loanee was a standout performer again versus the bewildered Potters.
He got Leeds up and running against Stoke to instantly ease the nerves when combining well with four-goal hero Piroe for the opener and he then supplied Willy Gnonto’s header, looping an inch-perfect cross to the back stick.
As a result, the 25-year-old went on to amass four key passes overall during the one-sided affair.
Firing two efforts of his own on the constantly bombarded Stoke net, the electric number 14 will have trudged off at the end ecstatic that his team were edging closer to promotion, but somewhat irked that he didn’t get to bag another league strike during the 6-0 bloodbath.
Solomon’s league numbers this season (24/25)
Stat
Solomon
Games played
37
Goals scored
9
Assists
11
Big chances missed
6
Big chances created
19
Stats by Sofascore
Still, he will be very pleased with his role during Leeds’ promotion success, considering Solomon can boast a hefty nine goals and 11 assists from 37 clashes, resulting in a bumper 19 big chances being created for the likes of Piroe and other consistently on-fire attackers.
A tricky, energetic livewire, Leeds will be looking for a Raphinha-like figure to boost their hopes of beating the drop next term, and they may well find that the Israeli is the best-equipped to live up to the tag.
Handed a 9/10 match rating by Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth, it will be interesting to see if the winger decides to stick it out with his loan employers this summer to prove himself in the division above. Twisting and turning Championship defences for fun is one thing, but as Solomon has already found out, the Premier League is a different beast.
Once upon a time, Raphinha cost just £17m to obtain, with a £20m move for Solomon in the pipeline, perhaps going down as a similarly golden move, especially if he’s able to translate his devastating second-tier form to the top-flight.
9/10 Leeds star just proved he could be their brand new Raphinha in the Premier League – opinion
