Leeds United sold Leif Davis while Jesse Marsch was still at the club in the summer of 2022, and the club is now mourning the loss of a promising left-back.
Under Daniel Farke, Sam Byram’s presence has helped bridge an alarming gap with surprising success, but there is still a noticeable absence of natural operators on the left side.
Not only that, but both Byram and Junior Firpo have spent more time on the bench in recent years than they have on the field.
Leeds’ only backup to Firpo in 22/23 was sold in the summer, with Leif Davis moving to then-League One side Ipswich Town, as he helped them to clinch promotion under Kieran McKenna.
The left-back was always going to struggle to get game time with Leeds in the Premier League, especially when they were in back-to-back relegation battles too, rather than being possession-dominant like McKenna’s Ipswich have been and still are.
He is enjoying life in the Championship with his new team, as he said to TWTD after he left Elland Road for Ipswich:
“I was always confident that I was making the right decision, even if it was two leagues lower when I joined.” I made the correct decision, and I’ve never regretted it.
“I’m not just happy here, I’m very grateful to the club for bringing me here and I will always do whatever I can for them.”
In short, Leeds’ choice to trade the left-back appears to have been quite short-sighted, especially after going down to the league that Davis now plays in with the Tractor Boys.
At the time, it appeared like Leeds had no place for him in the top flight, and that they weren’t planning on being relegated, despite the fact that the summer business surrounding it gave us a push to make it happen.
Now, he has 19 assists since joining McKenna’s team, including two in midweek, providing the quality from wide that Leeds has badly missed in that time frame, yet we still lack the required depth.
At barely 23 and performing this well, it seemed rash to let him go.
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