Championship side Leeds United targeted Birmingham City to bolster their squad in the summer transfer window but could not get their man.
One player who escaped Daniel Farke’s clutches was Birmingham City’s Paik Seung-Ho, who arrived at St Andrew’s in January. Meanwhile, the Blues were spending record income in League One; they did not feel the need to endure too many outgoings to aid them financially as they racked up a hefty transfer bill.
Chris Davies’ side seems to be taking no chances when it comes to missing out on promotion and have come out the gates firing in their bid to return to the Championship, while Leeds appear to have been meek so far this campaign.
Slow start for Leeds United.
Daniel Farke may be an expert in Championship promotion, having dominated this division in his years as Norwich City manager. With the German boasting a more than modest resume in the second division, it would be easy to label the start of this campaign as disappointing.
Only two sides (Portsmouth and Bristol City) have played out more draws in the Championship than Leeds United. They took their total to four after a draw at home with league leaders Sunderland; Illan Meslier’s stoppage time howler was the stuff of nightmares for Leeds fans, seeing them drop to fifth in the table when many were hoping they would head into the international break in the automatic promotion spots.
One such reason for that disappointing start could be the failure to bring in a notable name to the squad after several key members left Elland Road. It is safe to say the team was torn apart as Crysensio Summerville, Georginio Rutter and Archie Gray all got their move to the Premier League but left last year’s playoff finalists behind.
Seung-Ho is an important member of this Birmingham City team.
While Birmingham City fans are singing the praises of their high-profile signings, Alfie May and Jay Stansfield, whose goalscoring exploits have helped fire them towards the top of the table, one name being quietly sung is that of Seung-Ho. The South Korean was a free transfer in January, and he shows just what the free-agent market can do for a team.
The hope would have been for the midfielder to help them avoid relegation last season, but that did not come to fruition, and he is now plying his trade with them in the third tier. He has not missed a game for the Blues this season, starting all nine fixtures and has not failed to complete 90 minutes for them yet.
High-pressure occasions do not seem to faze the Korean, who notched his first assist this season against Hollywood giants Wrexham. That match saw him pick up a rating of 7.5. his second-highest behind his 7.6 against Huddersfield. While he does not seem too impressive in most areas, some of his defensive stats are solid, averaging 4.4 duels won per game, 3.7 of his ground duels, but 0.8 of his aerials. Two more impressive factors are his ability to recover the ball, winning the ball 4.3 times per game, and his ability to draw fouls, with 1.7 fouls won per game.
Transfer alternative has not paid off for Leeds United.
Leeds were not alone in pursuit of the Korean, as they were joined by promotion rivals, Sheffield United, who were chasing his signature this past summer. Both missed out on any dim opportunity to sign Seung-Ho. While the Blades did not sign any midfielder who could play a similar role, they hold the advantage in the promotion race, currently occupying second in the league.
Daniel Farke did sign a midfielder in Ao Tanaka from Bundesliga 2 side Fortuna Dusseldorf, but the Japanese midfielder has not taken the opportunities he has been given. Making six appearances for the Whites, he has only started twice but has failed to have any impact on the goal-contribution front. He has yet to make an assist from an xA of 0.30, meaning he has had a slim chance of doing so.
Farke may be ruing his failure to capture the South Korean international this past window, and while you would assume they would just come back in the winter window, any chance of the signing is slim after the midfielder signed a new contract at St Andrew’s.
After heartbreak in the playoff final last season against Southampton, a failure to bring in solid options for the team could see them face a similar heartache this campaign.