Leeds United: Ramazani right on course

National World - LocalTV

27/09/2024

Transcript

00:00For now, we want to talk about, is it Largi or Largi?

00:04We'll go Largi, I think.

00:06Largi Ramazzani, of course, who got his first goal for Leeds at the weekend against Cardiff.

00:14Obviously, we spoke about him a lot when he was first signing for Leeds in the summer,

00:19so perhaps someone who could be a Somerville replacement.

00:23How has he done so far, Lee, in your opinion?

00:26Of course, you've got that goal now, that might set the nerves a little bit in terms of coming to a club like Leeds,

00:31but how has he done and how do you think he will continue to develop for the rest of the season?

00:36I think the hope will be that he'll be this season's star.

00:38I don't want to put pressure on someone too early, but that's what it's all about, isn't it?

00:43Signing for clubs and doing well.

00:45At the end of the day, you can tell even in his one first post-match interview with LUTV

00:49that he doesn't look like a shrinking violet.

00:51He looks like the sort of player who basically loves the pressure and will soak it up.

00:55He's basically a very confident young man and also a very, very good young player.

00:59You can't ask for any more than taking 30 minutes into your full debut to score.

01:03You talk about immediate impacts.

01:05I suppose the only thing with that first league start is that, obviously, he should have scored another

01:09because he missed another chance, which was possibly even easier.

01:13A good save of the keeper's thigh leg or whatever.

01:16Obviously, far from a perfect first game or first start.

01:22The thing with him is, obviously, and Daniel Farke is always keen to stress it himself,

01:26is that you can't see players as like-for-like replacements.

01:29He will always be seen as the Somerville replacement as such

01:33because he's the same sort of player and he's the same sort of age.

01:36He's one year older, isn't he, at 23.

01:38But he does look a similar sort of player.

01:40I'm not saying he's going to be as good as Somerville or similar to Somerville,

01:43but even at this early stage, he does look like the sort of player who could be similar to that.

01:50It's not difficult to have seen that coming, really.

01:54He looks to have got a very, very good player.

01:56I mean, £10 million, a decent fee in the Championship, but not an astronomical fee.

02:01He's the sort of player that you would hope would quickly be worth a lot more than that.

02:04He's 23 years old.

02:05Obviously, he came in and you can see his CV.

02:08At La Liga level, 62 games, six goals and seven assists.

02:11He's pretty good in La Liga at that age, especially when you're coming into the Championship.

02:15Obviously, on top of that, a lot of goals in the second division in Spain as well.

02:19He's the sort of player that, if he came into the Championship and didn't score a lot of goals

02:22and got a lot of assists and you think something was wrong,

02:25I think he will get a lot of goals and a lot of assists.

02:28As I say, that's the first one on the board already.

02:30Very confident, as I say.

02:32I said after his first start, he had a feeling that he'd score.

02:35He certainly backs himself.

02:37He said that basically highlighted how good all his teammates were

02:40and that they would allow him to get the ball and do his thing, as he put it,

02:44in terms of taking players on.

02:47He should be, if he isn't already, end up being one of Leeds' star players.

02:51Obviously, there's a lot to go before you can class him in that,

02:56because it's still very early days.

02:58They're sort of screaming out for that, obviously, because they've lost Somerville

03:01and they've lost Routier, two big attacking stars.

03:04Nonto is still here.

03:05I guess you would say Nonto, at the moment, is the star, if you like, the established star.

03:10Obviously, there's new people coming in and Ramazani looks top of that tree.

03:15Obviously, Manor Solomon, we've talked about him before, coming in from Spurs.

03:19He looks the business, doesn't he?

03:21Yes, he looks the business, 100%.

03:23The thing with him, as we said straight away at the start, was his injury record.

03:27Straight away, he's already missed the game because of that back issue.

03:31We just hope that, obviously, he doesn't miss too many games for injuries.

03:35If he's fit and firing, then he should be one of the best players in the Championship,

03:40without a doubt, Manor Solomon, with his experience and stuff.

03:44Obviously, a little bit older as well.

03:45But Ramazani, in terms of potential, not just potential because he's good now,

03:49should really end up being one of Leeds' star players.

03:53Obviously, beginning life from the bench and then having his first start.

03:56I think already, you can probably start to say that he has to start, really,

04:00even when Solomon's fit and they're going to have to shift it around.

04:02Obviously, you've got to remember Dan James has got to come back as well.

04:05Always overlooked a bit is Dan.

04:08I feel a bit sorry for him when he talks about the star players and stuff.

04:12You almost forget about Dan James half the time.

04:14The impact he's had lately, last season, always question marks about end products,

04:19but he certainly answered that last season and seems to have that now.

04:22Then you've got Matteo Joseph, obviously, up front, who's still a very work in progress.

04:26There's no doubt about how talented he is.

04:28Again, we'd expect him to become one of Leeds' major stars.

04:31Hopefully, he can carry the mantle of being Leeds' number nine.

04:36You've got Bamford coming back.

04:37There's a lot of attacking prowess there.

04:40If Leeds can't go up with those players, attacking-wise, you'd have to ask why, really.

04:46I think that's fair enough to say that.

04:48Obviously, Daniel Farke has always been keen to build on a strong defence,

04:51which is, by and large, what they've started the new season with.

04:54It is looking good.

04:56I think, really, it's difficult to predict too much.

04:59You don't want to go wild, but he does look like being a very, very good player.

05:02Certainly, in terms of that Cardiff game, I think he was the one that people were excited about.

05:06Already got a chant straight away.

05:09It seems like becoming a fan's favourite.

05:11I don't think it's too wild to predict that he will become one of Leeds' best players if he isn't already.

05:17Looks like a very, very exciting young talent there.

05:19Hopefully, it's almost an upwards sprint.

05:22Yes, that would certainly be the hope.

05:25At least, of course, it is big boots to fill when it comes to who he's replacing.

05:30Yes, absolutely.

05:31I know, obviously, you mentioned there that Farke doesn't want to say he is the replacement.

05:36Let's be honest, we can all draw the conclusions.

05:38He is filling Christendiel Somerville's boots.

05:42He is going into that slot on the wing where Somerville once was.

05:46It is a lot of pressure on him, but it's something that I'm sure he'll be able to live up to.

Leeds United: Ramazani right on course

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