This summer, Leeds United is looking to add an offensive midfield player. The YEP makes their suggested reduced price here. requirements, Leeds probably would have added one in January. Since United’s title-winning return to the Premier League, the manager’s desire for a “specialist” to push Brenden Aaronson is unlikely to have changed.
If there had been a No. 10 that met Daniel Farke’s
The Whites are anticipated to conduct a lot of business this summer, in part because doing a lot of business is necessary just to stay competitive in the Premier League in 2025–2026. As of this writing, Farke’s team no longer boasts the line-breaking midfield skills and set-piece ability of 10-goal, 12-assist winger Manor Solomon and on-loan midfielder Joe Rothwell.
The latter will return to Tottenham Hotspur this summer, but there are conflicting rumors about his availability, so his future in North London is far from assured. However, even if Leeds decides to pursue a permanent contract with Solomon following his fruitful loan period, it is unlikely to be a low-cost agreement. With three years remaining on his Spurs contract, the Israel international has plenty of suitors after contributing 22 goals to a championship-winning team the previous season.
Before the transfer season officially starts next month, Leeds has been comparatively quiet in terms of reliable connections, but work is still being done behind the scenes. Long before Farke’s squad secured promotion five weeks ago, the club’s recruiting team will have been identifying possible targets in the event of promotion.
The Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR) apply to all teams in England’s top two divisions this summer, and Leeds is no exception after declaring a £60 million deficit for the 2023–2024 campaign. The Whites’ budget is limited, even if a recent £120 million capital infusion from a share offering by majority owner 49ers Enterprises will help with operating expenses of the team, which is once again a Premier League team. They should thus seek out, target, and take advantage of any cheap offers that are available.
Since Farke joined Leeds in July 2023, it is well known that the team has conducted a thorough reconnaissance of Germany. While additional targets like Roland Szallai and Dejan Ljubicic, who all played football in Farke’s own country, were considered at the highest levels of Leeds recruitment circles, Ilia Gruev and Ao Tanaka joined from Werder Bremen and Fortuna Dusseldorf, respectively, in successive summers.
Leeds is probably going to aim to sign more players from abroad this summer, especially from the Bundesliga, Germany’s premier league.
The Bundesliga’s third-bottom squad will play the 2. Bundesliga’s third-place finishers, a tier below, as anyone who knows the league system would know. England’s four-team promotion play-off format is not used in Germany’s second division. Rather, its third-best squad of the season must face the third-worst club in the top flight, with the winner earning a spot in the elite for the next season.
This year, 1. FC Heidenheim of the top flight took on 2. Bundesliga minnows SV Elversberg, narrowly retaining their Bundesliga status for another season, largely due to the efforts of a little-known playmaker.
Twenty-six-year-old Leo Scienza was the star over two legs, assisting one of Heidenheim’s goals in the first match, which was drawn 2-2 at the Bundesliga club’s ground. Their second goal on the night came as a result of the Brazilian-born attacker’s shot being parried into the path of goalscorer Mathias Honsak. Four days later, Scienza assisted again to help Heidenheim take the lead at Elversberg, who equalised on the half-hour mark, before scoring the winner with seconds of added time remaining.
This year, 1. FC Heidenheim of the top flight took on 2. Bundesliga minnows SV Elversberg, narrowly retaining their Bundesliga status for another season, largely due to the efforts of a little-known playmaker.
Twenty-six-year-old Leo Scienza was the star over two legs, assisting one of Heidenheim’s goals in the first match, which was drawn 2-2 at the Bundesliga club’s ground. Their second goal on the night came as a result of the Brazilian-born attacker’s shot being parried into the path of goalscorer Mathias Honsak. Four days later, Scienza assisted again to help Heidenheim take the lead at Elversberg, who equalised on the half-hour mark, before scoring the winner with seconds of added time remaining.
What is the history of Scienza?
Scienza’s debut season in a top five European league was 2024–2025. He started his professional career with the local team Clube Esportivo Lajeadense after playing youth football in Brazil and Uruguay for a short time. When he was signed by a low-level Swedish team, Fanna BK, in 2019, his dream of moving to Europe came true. He then joined FC Schalke 04’s ‘B’ squad, which plays in Germany’s fourth division.
After struggling to make an impression in Gelsenkirchen’s first squad, Scienza joined FC Magdeburg, although only made a few appearances in the 2. Bundesliga before falling to their ‘B’ club in Germany’s sixth division. However, Scienza’s stock has increased tremendously since the start of the 2023–2024 season.
In one 3. Liga season, a free move to SSV Ulm resulted in 12 goals and 15 assists, securing promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. He was signed by Heidenheim last summer for almost £500,000, who had unexpectedly ended in the European spots, rather than playing in Germany’s second division this past season.
Although Scienza’s debut season among the elite has gone smoothly, the team has battled this season and only managed to secure their top flight position with the final kick of the Bundesliga promotion-relegation play-off. However, the player has not received much attention.
Why should Scienza be of concern to Leeds?
The Heidenheim playmaker averaged more shots per 90 minutes than any other player in the top five leagues in Europe (Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1). During 2024–25, Scienza helped produce 6.39 shots for himself or his teammates for every 90 minutes he was on the field. He did this by winning fouls, dribbling past opponents, tackling high up the pitch, or just passing.
According to FBRef.com, the only players with higher averages were Michael Olise, Isco, and Rayan Cherki, all of whom are well-known in European football.
Who is Scienza as a player?
The Brazilian, who made around half of his Bundesliga appearances last season, is a player who plays in short bursts and has an influence on games even when substituted in.
Solomon became well-known at Elland Road for his ability to advance the ball by dribbling, gaining fouls as previously indicated, and doing so in hazardous situations.
Similarly to Rothwell, Scienza is also a success from dead ball situations. He is among the top 75 players in Europe’s top five leagues for that specific stat, with 20 of his shot-creating actions for Heidenheim this season coming from such situations. That’s really impressive considering that he just played a little more than 1,000 minutes and that the dataset contains almost 3,000 players.
He can also have an influence. He has contributed three of Heidenheim’s six goals this season off the bench, along with an assist against Bayern Munich and a goal and assist against Werder Bremen in two games.
Scienza has played all over the front line throughout his career, but he mostly cuts inside onto his right foot as a left-winger, something Solomon undoubtedly liked. In the games against Elversberg, he was one of two No. 10s and played centrally for Heidenheim, however in a 3-4-2-1 formation.
Despite having a similar but distinct size to Aaronson, Scienza is a flighty athlete who has proven to be challenging to dispose of. Whether he was being attacked by opponents, holding onto the ball, or, more often, earning a foul for his side, the Brazilian was dispossessed on average once per ninety minutes. In contrast, Leeds’ American number 10 was dispossessed three times out of every 90 games in the Championship last year. He had comparable stats in the Bundesliga with Union Berlin in 2023–2024 and Leeds in the Premier League the previous season.
What is the expected price of Scienza?
Heidenheim was reportedly prepared to pay €5 million for Scienza as then-2, according to reports from Germany during the winter transfer window. Hamburger SV, a Bundesliga team, reportedly showed interest. Although Scienza’s bit-part position during the second half of the campaign—playing one week on, one week off—is unlikely to have much raised their internal value, it is unknown what Heidenheim would want today, following his exploits in the playoffs.
Similarly, considering Hamburg’s purported interest and their elevation to the Bundesliga, it is unknown if Scienza would choose to remain in Germany if they were open to a move. Despite being born in Brazil, Scienza is a citizen of Luxembourg and, according to interviews, speaks German proficiently.
However, for a guy whose path to Germany’s top division has been, to put it mildly, a convoluted one, the chance to play in England’s top tier may not present itself again. The Premier League’s lure is as powerful as it gets in international football. Leeds would likewise have little trouble incorporating Scienza’s anticipated wage demands within their pay scale.
Could he immediately challenge Leeds’ or Aaronson’s current wingers?
There are certain disadvantages to any signing, and Scienza’s physical output is one area that has been noted as problematic. The 26-year-old hardly ever played 90 minutes for Heidenheim this season, which may indicate that his level of fitness is more in line with the lower divisions where he has played for the most of his career.
In the Premier League, Scienza is also unlikely to be a playmaker or winger who can “run in behind” like Solomon. He might be accused of not contributing to games until he does, as he prefers to rely on quick bursts of acceleration rather than maintaining himself over longer distances. Furthermore, Scienza lacks Aaronson’s ability to move around the field and push as hard, two things Farke is known to enjoy about the American.
What are Scienza’s shortcomings?
A positive scout report on Scienza would point out that he is frequently attempting riskier, more daring, and more searching passes in the final third, which might be a valuable asset for a side like Leeds next season that will depend on fewer opportunities than they are accustomed to.
Instead, a pessimistic view would draw attention to the player’s low passing accuracy, which is far worse than that of his top five European league counterparts as a result of his attempts to create.
Scienza’s stature also limits his ability to fly, and it’s unclear if he could withstand the tremendous pressure from the opponents in the Premier League. From this specific perspective, the Premier League is regarded to be a more demanding league, and his ball retention in the Bundesliga under such conditions seems to be at best mediocre.
What’s the decision?
Now that Leeds is back in the top flight, Scienza would be a low-risk signing for probably less than £5 million. He might find a place as No. 10, shooting and creating more frequently than Leeds’ present incumbent, which would be crucial in the Premier League where there are less possibilities to score goals. as the absolute least, he would give depth to Leeds’ wide areas.
He might not start right away if he were signed, but the potential is substantial for a player who wouldn’t fetch a high price in the Premier League.
Read more at;https://www.sportupdates.co.uk
Leave a Reply