Who is Diego Llorente? Strengths and weaknesses of Leeds' centre-back capture
Leeds have already spent big this summer to land Rodrigo and Robin Koch, not to mention the permanent capture of Helder Costa from Wolves. However, the newly promoted side haven't stopped there.
The lure of playing under Marcelo Bielsa is one that cannot be underestimated and while the Argentine is demanding, those on the same wavelength thrive. The hope, then, is that Diego Llorente follows suit on the back of his arrival from Real Sociedad.
The Spaniard was a prominent feature at the back for the Basque outfit in 2019/20 and he played the full 90 minutes in their 1-1 draw with Real Valladolid to kick off their campaign before La Real announced a deal was in place that would see him swap Spain for England earlier this week. It's no wonder that Bielsa has looked to his backline that needs additional strengthening before the close of the transfer window next month.
Leeds have conceded seven goals in the opening two games, though admittedly, three of those have been from the penalty spot. Nevertheless, Llorente brings with him top-flight LaLiga experience and, crucially, an approach that will help Bielsa's side dominate opponents.
His sole WhoScored strength is 'passing' and that comes as little surprise. An 87.3% pass success rate was the third best of all Real Sociedad regulars in LaLiga last season, while 63 passes per 90 was second only to Robin Le Normand (65) for the Spanish outfit. Leeds in the Championship last season routinely dominated opponents as they returned a higher possession average (59.6%) and the second best pass success rate (80.2%) in their title winning campaign.
This distribution from the back will benefit Bielsa's approach to help overwhelm teams in the Premier League, all the while keeping a calm head at the heart of the defence when Leeds and under pressure from some of the division's big hitters. While changing two starting centre-backs over the summer can have an adverse effect on the team, with Bielsa partnering summer arrival Koch with Pascal Struijk and Liam Cooper for meetings with Liverpool and Fulham, respectively, Llorente has the skillset and physical standing to slot seamlessly into the Premier League.
Standing at 6'1", Llorente averaged a modest 2.7 aerial duels won per 90 in LaLiga last season, so he won't be easily bullied by the Premier League's more physical frontmen. The main issue, though, comes in Llorente's concentration, or rather lack thereof.
His sole weakness is 'concentration' and for good reason, too. Only Thomas Partey (7) and Pervis Estupinan (6) committed more errors leading to an opposition shot than Llorente (5) of outfield players in LaLiga last season. Of those five, two resulted in an opposition goal; no outfielder ranked higher than Llorente.
It's for this reason why Real Sociedad may have been prepared to sanction his sale. Their win ratio since the start of 2019/20 rises from 35.7% to 50% when he doesn't start while goals conceded per game drops from 1.39 to 0.83 when he does not feature from the off. That being said, given Leeds' success in the market and their extensive scouting team - Bielsa, of course, is famed for his attention to detail - the pros will have outweighed the cons when it came to making a final decision on Llorente.
A defender of his style is more prone to committing errors and it's his work on the ball that will have caught Bielsa's eye. Leeds of course did concede fewer goals (35) than any other team in the Championship last season, so the focus on defending will ensure those mistakes are few and far between and if the Championship champions can eradicate this weakness to Llorente's game, then the Whites will have at their disposal a solid centre-back that can abide to Bielsa's gameplan with ease.
