Leeds United’s tenth signing of the summer window was announced on Sunday afternoon as the club confirmed the £10m arrival of James Justin from Championship side Leicester City.
Justin, 27, has put pen to paper on a four-year contract at Elland Road and he adds competition and cover at full-back, with Isaac Schmidt about to join Werder Bremen on a loan-to-buy deal this week.
An England international and a player that has huge Premier League experience despite an ACL injury, Justin fits the bill that Leeds have been going after in recent weeks. Mid-to-late twenties, over 6ft.
Only Sean Longstaff and Lucas Perri lack international caps of Leeds’ 10 signings, and that is largely because they are English and Brazilian. Justin is in line to make his debut for Leeds against Newcastle.
Daniel Farke shares why he has signed James Justin at Leeds
Farke has always been keen on maintaining a family feel at Leeds, bringing in players that are as good as their character. Justin fits neatly into that according to Farke, who held a press conference on Thursday.
Speaking to the media earlier this afternoon, Farke gave reasons for the signing of Justin and explained what the defender is like off the pitch and behind the scenes, as a person and in training with Leeds.
“James Justin is a proven Premier League player. He is capped for England. What I like is that he is flexible, he can play right-back or left-back. An all-round full-back, he adds goals and assists, good at defending.
“A top-class character and a top age. We are pretty pleased to have this proven player, he will be an important teammate. Whoever delivers, will play. I’m glad we have more quality competition right now.”
Difference between James Justin, Isaac Schmidt, and Sam Byram
With Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson, and Isaac Schmidt and Sam Byram, Leeds had four full-backs and looking at the front page, all would be considered fine with that situation, there is depth.
But delve a little deeper, and the drop-off from Bogle and Gudmundsson to Schmidt and Byram is huge. If Bogle or Gudmundsson become unavailable, Leeds are left with a gaping drop in quality at the back.
Bringing in Justin not only bridges that gap, but actually provides competition to Gudmundsson and Bogle. It tells them that if they have a bad couple of games, here is a player that is ready to come in.
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