Everything you need to know

Rasmus Kristensen at Leeds United: Is he a guaranteed starter? What do the stats say? What’s his rating out of 10?

|
Image for Rasmus Kristensen at Leeds United: Is he a guaranteed starter? What do the stats say? What’s his rating out of 10?

Leeds United’s Rasmus Kristensen hasn’t had the best start to life since making the move to Elland Road from Red Bull Salzburg.

A lot of changes were made to the Leeds squad following their survival in May under Jesse Marsch, with the American looking to stamp his mark on the side after taking charge mid-season.

One of his signings was from former club, Red Bull Salzburg, as he made right-back Rasmus Kristensen his second arrival of the summer for £10million.

It’s not been smooth sailing for the Denmark international since he swapped the Austrian Bundesliga for the challenges of the Premier League.

Here, we look at his start to life at Leeds and rate how he’s getting on with his new club…

Is he a guaranteed starter?

Joining as a regular Denmark international with impressive Champions League experience to his name, it was clear that Kristensen was going to look to displace Luke Ayling as the first-choice in that position – helped by Ayling’s knee surgery ruling him out for the start of the season.

However, the Dane’s performances haven’t exactly proven that he’s a marked improvement on Ayling thus far, especially when Ayling came off the bench away to Brentford and made an instant impact with an assist for Marc Roca.

As Ayling looks to hit full fitness over the international break, it’s not obvious who ought to start going forward.

Cody Drameh can’t be discounted from the conversation either.

Who should be first-choice at right-back?

Rasmus Kristensen

Rasmus Kristensen

Luke Ayling

Luke Ayling

What do his stats say?

The stats don’t make Kristensen’s form look any better either, with just one successful cross so far this season out of a meagre six attempted (via Wyscout), while Ayling managed three successful crosses against Brentford alone.

His 73% passing accuracy is something that he knows will have to improve, because while he’s taking risks high up the pitch and playing vertically, there are simple passes going astray that need cutting out.

Kristensen’s defensive contributions are largely solid after a wobbly first two games, winning almost two thirds of his aerial duels (64.3%), and 58.1% of his overall defensive duels.

Rating out of 10?

The 25-year-old has been his biggest critic so far, well aware that the step up to Premier League standard has been a shock to him.

It would be fair to say that he has arguably been the worst of the new signings that are playing regularly, but it’s also fair to point out that he’s playing in a position that will leave any player exposed, given our willingness to get full-backs high up the pitch.

Having said this, he should come good once he’s got to grips with the jump in standard, because he’s got the physicality to match the league.

Rating: 6/10

1 of 20

In what year was Rasmus Kristensen born?

Share this article

Leeds United season ticket holder since 2013/14, currently situated in the middle of the FA5 noise. From Pablo Hernandez to 5-1 drubbings, I've seen it all at Elland Road.