Promotion is the clear aim at Leeds United this season and the club look well-placed to continue their quest for a top-two spot, sitting third in the Championship table over the international break.
Despite seeing three key players leave in the summer when Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter all secured Premier League moves, Daniel Farke’s squad has remained competitive, with some shrewd summer signings coming in to replace the club’s big-money departures.
Summerville was named as the Championship’s Player of the Season last year, while Gray and Rutter also played vital roles for Farke.
With a third of the season now gone, the table is beginning to settle and the division’s key players are emerging – so what do the stats say when it comes to who Leeds’ best player is?
Junior Firpo the highest-ranked Leeds United player
According to WhoScored, who use a ‘unique, comprehensive statistical algorithm’ to rate players, Leeds’ best performer so far this season is left-back Junior Firpo, who currently has a rating of 7.08 out of ten.
Firpo was hit with a three-match ban at the weekend and will sit out the matches against Swansea City and Luton Town after the international break, which will be a blow as Leeds insiders have been ‘pleasantly surprised’ by the 28-year-old this season.
That put the Dominican Republic star just ahead of Wilfried Gnonto (7.07) and Pascal Struijk (7.06). Injured midfield duo Ethan Ampadu and Illia Gruev both have a rating of 7.04, with Brendan Aaronson (7.01), Jayden Bogle (6.98), Largie Ramazani (6.85)and Ao Tanaka (6.74) rounding out their top ten performers.
No Leeds player in Championship’s top 15 rated performers
Interesting, despite Leeds sitting third in the league, there are no United players among WhoScored’s current top 15 ranked players in the league.
That list is headed by Luton Town defender Alfie Doughty (7.40), with Sheffield United’s Harrison Burrows (7.35) next up and Leeds-linked left-back Dennis Cirkin (7.31) rounding out the top three.
| Player | Team | Rating |
| Alfie Doughty | Luton Town | 7.40 |
| Harrison Burrows | Sheffield United | 7.35 |
| Dennis Cirkin | Sunderland | 7.31 |
| Borja Sainz | Norwich | 7.27 |
| Vinicius Souza | Sheffield United | 7.27 |
Sheffield United also have Vinicius Souza (7.27) and Oliver Arblaster (7.13) in the top ten, while Sunderland’s Jobe Bellingham (7.13) comes in tenth.
Firpo is the first Leeds player on this list and comes in as the division’s 17th-ranked player, with Gnonto 19th on their list.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  SunderlandSunderland | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 31 |
| 2 |  Sheff UtdSheffield Utd | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 31 |
| 3 |  LeedsLeeds | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 24 | 9 | 15 | 29 |
| 4 |  BurnleyBurnley | 15 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 27 |
| 5 |  West BromWest Brom | 15 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 25 |
Ranking snub good news for Leeds?
Leeds fans may be quick to scoff at these rankings, as it seems odd for a promotion-contending side not to feature any of the best players in the division.
This is largely down to the algorithm, but you can also argue that it means Leeds do not have an over-reliance on individual players like some of their rivals do.
This theory is born out by the fact that Leeds’ first-choice central midfield partnership of Ampadu and Gurev has been unavailable for more than a month now, with Tanaka and Rothwell giving Farke the depth he will need to call on throughout the grueling Championship season.
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