Gabriel Gudmundsson has made a comparison between Leeds United and both Liverpool and Man City ahead of playing Tottenham Hotspur.
Leeds United signed Gabriel Gudmundsson from Lille for around £10 million. It’s also been reported that the Swedish left-back is on a decent wage for Leeds.
Gudmundsson is one of three standout Leeds players so far, in spite of that own goal for Leeds against Fulham. In fact, Gudmundsson has opened up about the Fulham moment in a recent interview.
In the midst of this, a poll voted Gudmundsson as Leeds’ signing of the season already, just ahead of Anton Stach. If anything, Leeds fans are more sure about Gudmundsson and that assessment since that game.
Gabriel Gudmundsson explains why he has been an upgrade for Leeds on Junior Firpo
Gudmundsson has competition from James Justin but he remains the only specialist left-back at the club who is naturally left-footed. He replaced Junior Firpo, who left on a free transfer to return to Real Betis in La Liga.
Given how Firpo did, and that Gudmundsson is adapting to a new league, he could have been forgiven for a slow start. However, despite how loved Firpo was, the 26-year-old has captured the hearts of Leeds fans already.
Speaking via BBC Sounds, he explained his role compared with Firpo and how he has adapted to the league from the French top flight, and on his role in Sean Longstaff’s goal, Gudmundsson laughed, “Oh, yeah.
“When I see an opportunity to go forward, I try to go forward. But, as a defender and left-back, you have to secure back your own goal first.
“It was a good one. You know, with the fans there, you get a little bit of extra feeling to fight even more and we played at Elland Road. It’s a nice one for Sean to get his first goal and it was a beautiful goal as well.”
On adapting to the Premier league, he added: “Oh, it’s hard to say. Of course, you read so much about the Premier League. It’s the biggest league in the world and, obviously, it is.
“But I think I had four very good years in France that made me who I am today and made me well prepared to come into the Premier League and fight directly for my position here.
“For me, I think, for me, Ligue 1 is very, very physical. Good league. Hard league. A better league than many think about it.
“Obviously, the Premier League is so big in terms of the reputations and players here. [There’s] quality in every position. Bringing all the best players in every league to come here.
“I think Ligue 1 is a very good league, a very good league to develop. I’m very happy for my time there but the Premier League is a bit more in the spotlight.
Gudmundsson then explained his lung-busting overlapping runs, stating: “It’s a good question. But, in the end, we also have to see ourselves also and understand what we are. We are not Liverpool. We are not like [Man] City — whatever the top teams are.
“So, of course, at first — as a defender — you need to defend. You need to make sure that they don’t score, especially where I am — stop the attacks. And, afterwards, where possible, and with the possibility to go forward to try to create something for players in front of me.
“Try to do that as often as possible as well. Because, in the end, we need to try to get as many points as possible. To do that, you need to score goals, because you need to win games. So, it’s a balance. But, in balance, I have been quite good so far.”
The time Gabriel Gudmundsson played against Mo Salah and Liverpool
Leeds’ signing from Lille has fixed a problem area for the Whites for the better part of a decade, with left-back a particularly problematic position for Leeds in recent times.
Speaking of Lille and Liverpool, Gudmundsson has played at Anfield recently against Mo Salah. The Egyptian and Harvey Elliott scored in a 2-1 win, with Jonathan David securing the goal for Gudmundsson and co.
It was in January, with Gudmundsson hooked off after 74 minutes and with a 6.3 match rating on FotMob. He made one interception and a few recoveries, but Gudmundsson failed to complete a single successful tackle on the Liverpool icon down his flank.
The two will face off again twice in early and in late December, but Gudmundsson may not have to face Salah for the game at Anfield. The clash on the 30th is during AFCON.
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