THREAD: I’ve taken a closer look at Leeds’ club record signing Rodrigo Moreno. Here are some of his key numbers and where the Spain international will fit in as the club’s marquee summer transfer. #LUFC

First off, Leeds are breaking their club record transfer fee by a substantial margin by bringing Rodrigo to Elland Road. It’s an incredible amount of money and a huge statement of intent. He’ll be the best paid squad member at the club, but a very different calibre of player.

Rodrigo is an incredible marquee signing. He’s a Spanish international with genuine pedigree who Victor Orta hailed as a “world class player.” The 29-year-old has scored 8 goals in 22 appearances for Spain, including playing 3 games as a substitute at the 2018 World Cup.

Rodrigo has been directly involved in 100 goals at Valencia having scored 59 goals and produced 41 assists for Valencia across all competitions in 220 appearances across six seasons.

In 2019/20, Rodrigo scored 8 goals and registered 9 assists in 34 games for Valencia, although he sat out the final weeks of the campaign with a knee injury.

In La Liga, Rodrigo scored 4 goals but underperformed on his xG (7.2) in 2019/20. Yet he outperformed his assists output producing 7 from an xA of 5.8. Rodrigo scored 3 goals from 4 shots inside the six-yard box, and 4 goals were scored with his left foot.

Despite Valencia’s poor domestic campaign, Rodrigo managed a non-penalty goals and assists contribution of 0.52 per 90 in 2019/20, the 13th-highest by any La Liga player (1000+ mins).

In the Champions League, he managed 2 goals from 6 shots on-target and produced 2 assists and 9 chances in 6 matches in 2019/20. His pace remains one of his core strengths and reached a top speed of 32 km/h.

Rodrigo created 12 big chances in La Liga in 2019/20, only Karim Benzema (13), Gerard Moreno (14) and Lionel Messi (34) managed more. He was joint-7th for most assists (7). Averaged 0.33 assists per 90, bettered only by Leo Messi (0.63) and Luis Suarez (0.36) (1000+ minutes).

Breaking down his 38 La Liga goals for Valencia, Rodrigo scored 26 with his left foot, 5 with his right and 7 headed goals. 16 were scored in the six-yard box, 19 in the penalty area and 3 from outside the box. Fox in the box and a bit more. #LUFC

His conversion rate from shots on-target in La Liga is substantially lower over his last two seasons:

2019/20: 28.6%
2018/19: 27.6%
2017/18: 42.1%
2016/17: 45.5%

This is a brilliant stat from @jamiemkemp who highlighted Rodrigo’s strengths at ball carrying: Rodrigo made 4.7 progressive carries per 90, which places him in the top 3 La Liga forwards for the metric to have played 1000+ minutes in 2019/20. This is pretty significant.

Some context is needed when comparing his recent output to his previous 2 seasons. Valencia struggled in La Liga winning just 14 games and scoring 46 goals. When Marcelino Garcia Toral took charge in 2017/18, Rodrigo scored 19 goals after 3 years without reaching double figures.

Barcelona held talks with Valencia over a potential €50m+ move in January and saw him as the ideal forward to cover for the injured Luis Suarez. Yet plenty have reasonable concerns over his sizeable transfer fee, goals record, recent list of injuries and the fact that he’s 29.

Rodrigo is essentially a number 9, but naturally drifts to the right. He can essentially play anywhere across the front. For Valencia in La Liga, Rodrigo played 100 games as a number 9, 33 as a sub, 10 left forward, 9 right forward, 15 right midfielder and 4 as an AM.

It is likely that Rodrigo will assume the leading number 9 role. Bielsa could also deploy him as a secondary striker. His recent positional history wouldn’t suggest a switch out wide, though his versatility could see him help take the weight off Pablo as the key central creator.

Rodrigo’s other key La Liga stats from last season (per 90) include 42.4 touches, 2.3 recoveries, 28.5 passes, 1.9 shots, 1.3 chances created, 0.7 shots on-target, 12.5 final third passes, 1.1 take-ons, 35% shot accuracy and a 10.3% conversion rate.

Rodrigo has scored 7 goals for Spain since 2018 including the winner against England at Wembley in September 2018. He also scored four goals in Spain’s European Championships qualification campaign. Pinch yourselves, this is the quality of player Leeds are actually acquiring.

Rodrigo passed his club medical earlier today, which will hopefully alleviate natural fears regarding his recent knee injury which saw him miss 13 games over 3 separate spells last term. Overall he is a terrific athlete with a high work rate which will be fully tested by Bielsa.

Rodrigo is an unbelievable signing for Leeds that not only provides us with a number 9 at an elite level, but adds substantial experience and weighting to Leeds’ attacking line. Not a huge defensive output player, but his versatility and huge work rate will have attracted Bielsa.

Leeds play a fusion of high intensity, possession-based football that also prioritises counter attacks by turning over possession at a high frequency. It’s a style of play that will suit Rodrigo well. He’s a player who is technically excellent and thrives at transitional play.

Bielsa is one of the world’s best coaches at getting the best out of his players. If Rodrigo can replicate the form he showed in 2017/18 when he scored 16 La Liga goals, Leeds have themselves a dream player. Age fears? Remember when we signed Pablo Hernandez at 31? Wow, Leeds.

The club has just added Rodrigo Moreno to their squad list on the club app as a ‘second striker’.