Leeds United made the decision not to dip into the market to invest in a new centre-forward during the recent summer transfer window, despite the big-name departures.
Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville both moved on, to Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United respectively, but they only signed wingers – Largie Ramazani and Manor Solomon – to bolster the attack.
Brenden Aaronson did return from his loan spell with Union Berlin to compete in the number ten role, but Daniel Farke did not swoop for a new number nine.
This meant that the West Yorkshire outfit went into the 2024/25 Championship campaign with Joel Piroe, Mateo Joseph, and Patrick Bamford as their striker options.
Leeds United's striking success
The Whites have had mixed success with those three strikers so far this season. Bamford has been the least successful of the three, with zero goals and zero assists in six appearances as a substitute in the league.
Joseph, meanwhile, has scored two goals and provided three assists in 15 appearances and nine starts in the second tier, missing five ‘big chances’ in that time, which shows that his finishing has been below par.
Piroe has been the most successful of the three centre-forwards. The Dutchman has scored six goals, from 4.11 xG, and produced two assists in 15 outings and seven starts in the Championship.
There is one former Leeds forward, however, who is currently outscoring Piroe, Joseph, and Bamford combined for his new club this season – Max Dean.
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Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.
Max Dean's goalscoring record since leaving Leeds
The young attacker joined the Whites from Everton in the summer of 2019 and scored 16 goals in 38 games for the club at U21 level before a move to MK Dons at the start of 2023.
Jesse Marsch, the Leeds manager at the time, deemed him to be surplus to requirements and sold him to League One side MK Dons for an undisclosed fee.
Over the next 18 months, Dean racked up 20 goals and five assists in 43 appearances for MK Dons, including 15 goals in 29 League Two games during the 2023/24 campaign.
Appearances
28
Starts
22
Goals
15
Assists
5
Big chances created
6
Belgian side Gent then swooped to secure his services earlier this year for a reported fee of £1m and he has enjoyed a terrific start to life in a new country.
In the 2024/25 campaign so far, Dean has contributed with nine goals and two assists in 20 appearances, which means that he has outscored Piroe, Joseph, and Bamford combined, as they have eight goals between them in all competitions.
The 20-year-old whiz, whose character was described as “infectious” by former boss Mike Williamson, is flying in Belgium and Leeds may now wonder whether or not they made the right decision when Marsch sold him at the start of last year.
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At the age of 20, Dean still has plenty of time left to develop and improve and could go on to prove the Whites very wrong if he continues to shine as a goalscorer in Europe.