Leeds United winger Noah Okafor got off the mark with his first goal for the club away at Wolves, but all anyone is talking about is whether he should be keeping the ball more.
There was plenty of frustration aimed at Leeds’ end to the summer window, mainly in how they addressed the attacking positions.
United went from £60million worth of attacking targets, to signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin for free and Noah Okafor for £18million, while failing to add any more to that.
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Is Noah Okafor giving the ball away too much for Leeds United?
You’d have thought that Okafor getting his first goal in Leeds colours would have been the overriding theme of discussion this week regarding the Swiss winger.
He took his finish well and ultimately gave United a nice cushion to sit on in the second half when Wolves made multiple attacking changes.
Noah Okafor scored Leeds United’s third goal away at Wolves. (Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs)
However, how he lost possession often during the game at Molinuex is what plenty have fixated on:
Daniel Farke was asked about this during his pre-Bournemouth press conference, to which he had this to say.
“[Him losing possession is] something we addressed, and something I criticised,” Farke said, per the YEP. “At half-time I said good in terms of going forward, great taken goal, always looks sharp but with your back to the goal we have to be stronger.
“Comes from a different league, sometimes claiming a foul instead of adapting to be rock solid. Also proved he can add end product. Mature first away game at Fulham, stepped up in the last game but can keep the ball better. Also a player who takes a lot of risk, needs to find better timing.”
Harsh criticism detracts from what Noah Okafor brings to the table at Leeds United
Yes, the stats absolutely back up what Farke is saying about Okafor. Losing possession 22 times out of 40 total touches isn’t a good look at all.
That being said, it takes away what should be focused on when looking at Okafor’s performance, and that’s the threat he posed any time he managed to get 1v1 with his opposite number.
Despite completing just over 40% of his dribbles, each time he beat his man he was then able to drive at the defence in the final third, and looked a real threat in doing so.
Wolves Yerson Mosquera struggling to keep hold of Leeds United’s Noah Okafor. (Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs)
It’s easy to forget after such a good win, that prior to Wolves, we were all lamenting United’s lack of creativity and cutting edge in the final third. Now, we have Okafor, who is taking risks and those risks paid off as he caused problems to that Wolves back line. Granted, Wolves were poor.
Even with a lower success rate than desired, Fotmob have the 25-year-old joint-top of the Premier League this season for dribbles completed per 90:
While someone like Yankuba Minteh boasts a remarkable success rate, and someone like Bukayo Saka naturally strikes fear into full-backs, Okafor beats his man more often than both.
Former Leeds winger Raphinha, lauded for his trickery in a Leeds shirt and just finished 5th in the Ballon d’Or rankings, managed just 1.91 successful dribbles per 90 with a success rate of 42.5%.
Georginio Rutter (also fewer dribbles at 1.5) was a joy to watch in Farke’s first Leeds side, purely because he took risks on the ball. It frustrated the life out of you when he gave it away in his own half, but it’s the price you pay to have someone willing and capable of beating his man and opening the game up in an instant.
Farke is absolutely correct in criticising Okafor for the timing of some dribbles, including giving possession away that ultimately started Wolves’ move for the opener. However, to stifle or limit this part of his game would be massively harming what he brings to the table.
Summary: Let ballers ball.
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