Some eyebrows were raised when Leeds United decided to spend £10m to sign full-back James Justin from Leicester City in the last summer transfer window.
The versatile defender had just been relegated to the Championship with the Foxes and the Whites already had Jayden Bogle as a nailed-on starter at right-back.
However, Daniel Farke‘s switch to a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 formation gave Justin and Bogle the chance to start alongside each other down the right side of the defence, and the former Leicester man has been exceptional.
The 28-year-old full-back scored his second goal of the Premier League season for Leeds on Saturday with a phenomenal overhead kick in the 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
As well as providing quality on the ball, Justin has won 60% of his ground duels and 52% of his aerial duels in the league, which shows that he has been dominant as an out-and-out defender.
Leeds hold talks to sign Premier League defender
Justin’s excellent form for the Whites in the Premier League is proof that being relegated with a team does not mean that you are a bad player or not cut out for the top tier.
The club were not put off by his relegation from the top-flight last season and have benefitted from their decision to look past his team’s form, as he has been a brilliant signing so far.
Now, Farke may be about to repeat that trick by signing another player who is on course to be relegated from the Premier League by the end of the current campaign.
According to the Express & Star, Leeds United are one of the clubs interested in a deal to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Ladislav Krejci in the summer transfer window.
The report claims that the Whites have already made contact with the intermediaries to hold talks about a potential move to Elland Road for the versatile star.
Krejci is set to sign permanently for Wolves for £20m at the end of his loan spell from Sparta Prague, as part of the initial loan agreement, and he could seal a swift exit from the club thanks to interest from Leeds.
How Ladislav Krejci would be the new James Justin for Leeds
Despite Wolves being on the verge of relegation down to the Championship, the Czechia international could be a fantastic addition to the squad in the same way that Justin was last summer.
Krejci, once described as “complete” by Como scout Ben Mattinson, has shown some promising signs with his work in and out of possession for Rob Edwards’ side, whilst typically playing as a centre-back in a back three.
25/26 PL
Krejci
Rank vs CBs
Goals
2
Top 19%
xA
1.43
Top 7%
Chances created
8
Top 22%
Touches in opposition box
44
Top 13%
Interceptions
31
Top 15%
Defensive contributions
180
Top 36%
Aerial duels won
59
Top 34%
Farke’s new-look Leeds team play with a system that includes three central defenders and the £20m-rated star would be the perfect fit for that, given his experience in that sort of formation with Wolves this season.
He has shown qualities in possession when playing out from that shape, as evidenced by his xA and touches in the opposition’s box, which suggests that he can step forward out of the backline to contribute at the other end of the pitch.
The Wolves star, who turned 27 this week, has areas of his game that need to improve, as he has made four errors that have led to shots or goals in the Premier League, but playing for a team that is not struggling as much as a unit may help his individual performances.
Justin, for example, made three errors in the top-flight for Leicester as they were relegated from the division last term, yet has only made one in 24 matches for Leeds.
Sometimes, good players can end up in bad situations and bad players can end up in good situations. It seems like Krejci falls into the former because he has shown good signs in and out of possession in a badly struggling Wolves side.
Leeds have clearly seen encouraging signs in his performances, hence why they are interested in a deal to bring him to Elland Road in the summer, and are looking to make him their next version of James Justin.
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