Leeds United Chat • Re: Leeds United officials spotted in New York ahead of potential Valentin Castellanos transfer

And Brenden is still unproven on a week by week basis in a top football league.
Would you he confident Castellanos could score the minimum 10-15goals required from that role?

You have done your homework and made some thoughtful comments Cjay. Which I appreciate. I would only quibble on the margins of what you have laid out because I think you have been mostly fair.

My focus is on young players moving from MLS to Europe not on players that took a step back down and came to MLS from Europe. Players like Martinez and Vela certainly have been more productive in MLS than they were in Europe. Just as Pablo Hernandez was by moving down to the Championship from stronger leagues on the Continent. It's not unusual for talented players to find a new lease on life when they find a place they are comfortable.

You mentioned Dempsey and McBride as players that made a successful jump from MLS to the Premier League. I would actually include Donovan in that group as he was quite successful in the short loan spells with Everton. He basically walked right from MLS into the Starting Eleven. And they made a strong move to purchase him outright.

Miquel Almiron has not scored goals at Newcastle like he did in MLS. But he has been an impact player for them.

Rossi made the step up with Fenerbache. I don't particularly rate the Turkish Super League. But he has shown well in Europa League matches. We don't yet know if he could cut it in a big five league as he has not gotten the chance.

Some people would point to the recent transfer of Ricardo Pepi from FC Dallas to Augsburg as a complete flop as he has made no impact whatsoever after being purchased for $20M in the January window. And that is the correct conclusion so far. But most MLS observers felt that was a poor move for both the player and the clubs involved. Pepi had not yet established himself as a consistent scorer in MLS. And Augsburg were a poor team in a relegation fight. Not the ideal situation for an 18 yo kid to step into.

I'm surprised you forgot the biggest flop of all time at least from a British perspective. Jozy Altidore scored exactly 2 goals in 70 Premier League appearances for Hull City and Sunderland. Although he was scoring goals for fun in the Eredivisie with AZ Alkmaar in between the two stints. And was a reliable goal scorer for USA when healthy. I always wondered how he would have done with a better Premier League club.

The real point of all this is to identify young bargain players that can likely make the jump from MLS to a top five league, particularly the Premier League with Leeds Untied. I do think Castellanos is one of those players to take a chance on if the price is right. I do think he could score 10+ goals per year with Leeds.

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