Latest news with #GabrielGudmundsson
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Gudmundsson 'would be a great wing-back'
Swedish journalist Olof Lundh says new Leeds United full-back Gabriel Gudmundsson will add an extra dimension to their attack. The Sweden international should slot into the left wing-back role previously held by Junior Firpo after making the £10m switch from Lille and signing a four-year deal at Elland Road. Advertisement "He is more of a Junior Firpo type of player," Lundh told BBC Radio Leeds' Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast. "But I don't know if Daniel Farke will go with three central defenders. [If so], then Gabriel Gudmundsson would be a great wing-back. As a full-back, he will have challenges defensively. But he is great offensively. "In the national team, they've used him as one of three central defenders, as a left central defender. "His skills are mostly in the offensive part of the game, but he has developed a lot in the French league, which is quite a tough, physical league. He has grown a lot, mentally and become tougher. He has taken on challenges and done really well." Listen on BBC Sounds
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Gudmundsson 'would be a great wing-back'
Swedish journalist Olof Lundh says new Leeds United full-back Gabriel Gudmundsson will add an extra dimension to their Sweden international should slot into the left wing-back role previously held by Junior Firpo after making the £10m switch from Lille and signing a four-year deal at Elland Road. "He is more of a Junior Firpo type of player," Lundh told BBC Radio Leeds' Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast. "But I don't know if Daniel Farke will go with three central defenders. [If so], then Gabriel Gudmundsson would be a great wing-back. As a full-back, he will have challenges defensively. But he is great offensively. "In the national team, they've used him as one of three central defenders, as a left central defender."His skills are mostly in the offensive part of the game, but he has developed a lot in the French league, which is quite a tough, physical league. He has grown a lot, mentally and become tougher. He has taken on challenges and done really well."Listen on BBC Sounds
New York Times
09-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
What will Gabriel Gudmundsson bring to Leeds? And is he the right left-back for Daniel Farke?
Leeds United have their fourth signing of the summer in the building. Gabriel Gudmundsson was quickly ushered into life at Thorp Arch with a staple of pre-season training on Tuesday: the bleep test. It was probably a good test of the new £10million ($13.6m) signing's ability to get up and down the pitch. The 26-year-old will be doing plenty of that as he appears to be the club's first-choice left-back for next season. Advertisement Junior Firpo left the club when his contract expired on June 30, while Sam Byram's new one-year deal was announced on Tuesday evening. Byram was primarily used in reserve last season in the Championship. It remains to be seen if Leeds go after another left-back option, but with goalkeepers, central midfielders, attacking midfielders, wingers and strikers still on their shortlist, their budget will only stretch so far. What have Leeds bought in Gudmundsson, then? The Athletic takes a look through his profile, statistics and clips to build a picture of the man Daniel Farke and the recruitment team wanted. The obvious unknown with Gudmundsson is how he will cope in the Premier League. There is a lot to like about him, but until we head towards the back end of 2025, the jury will be out on his ability at this level. However, his prime years are still ahead of him. He has 15 Sweden caps, 103 Ligue 1 appearances and a handful of Champions League outings to his name — proven experience in one of Europe's top-five leagues as well as the continent's elite club competition. His injury record is superb, too. According to Transfermarkt, Gudmundsson has not had any prolonged absences through injury since February 2023. Player availability has to be one of the main priorities for United's new signings. There's no use in investing in someone who cannot play. The biggest question mark that arises from Gudmundsson's stats is how impressive his attacking data can be without delivering goals and assists. When compared with other left-backs across the 'big five' leagues last season, Gudmundsson impressed when it came to successful take-ons (going past defenders), progressive passes received (taking in those longer passes down the left flank) and touches in the opposition area. However, in all competitions last term, the left-back delivered just two goals and one assist from 45 games. Last season, Leeds relied on Firpo as an attacking force — he provided four goals and 10 assists in the Championship. Farke's tactics served to get the best out of an ostensibly defensive player in the final third. Advertisement So, Gudmundsson's raw numbers do not match up — but it might not be that simple. Gudmundsson has been a useful asset for Lille, the man who develops the play before feeding the ultimate assister of his team's goal. From his playstyle wheel below, you can see that dribbling upfield is a big part of Gudmundsson's game. He ranks in the 89th percentile of all left-backs for 'carry progression' across the big five leagues (so only 11 per cent of left-backs moved the ball up the pitch more frequently). This shows how Gudmundsson has dragged Lille upfield, but his far smaller sections for 'creative threat' (27) and 'cross volume' (32) show he is not necessarily at the sharp end of the team's chance creation. He has that priceless ability to get up and down the field, even if he isn't making the final pass. During a clash with Rennes last season, there was an especially impressive move from Gudmundsson that underlined his ball-carrying ability and a knack of going past defenders. He receives the initial pass in a wide-left position on the halfway line. He drives past Albert Gronbaek, begins cutting inside, squeezes between the pressure of Azor Matusiwa and Lorenz Assignon, around Hans Hateboer's outstretched leg and by Glen Kamara before he meets a wall on the edge of the Rennes box. That's five players he evaded, from the halfway line to the box. A score of 78 for 'pass progression' in his wheel higlights Gudmundsson's inclination to move the ball forward fairly frequently, when compared with his peers. However, 68 for 'link-up play' shows he prefers playing shorter passes, perhaps playing one-twos with team-mates in those tight pockets of the final third. Lille visited Liverpool for a Champions League tie in January. Above, you can see Gudmundsson advancing to give Remy Cabella a short option on the left side. They exchange passes before Gudmundsson shows a turn of speed to cut inside and then out again to collect Cabella's return pass. The left-back has gone around Harvey Elliott and then outmuscled Conor Bradley to retain possession before a low cutback into the box. Advertisement Team-mate Hakon Haraldsson is found and his shot cannons off Kostas Tsimikas before Jonathan David then puts away what was Lille's equaliser on the night. A 'goal threat' of 73 in the playstyle wheel above is not a good score among other full-backs. The hard numbers would suggest Gudmundsson was more likely to score than assist for Lille. One of last season's two goals came in a league game against Nantes. Above, you can see a raking pass from Aissa Mandi (one of those progressive efforts Gudmundsson consistently made himself available for) to the Swede. Gudmundsson gathers, comes inside and then lays off one of the shorter, safer passes he has preferred for ball retention. Benjamin Andre then loops a longer ball out to Cabella on the right while Gudmundsson wanders into the box. Cabella's superb effort crashes off the crossbar, but Gudmundsson attacks the back post for a calm finish on the follow-up. Defensively, Gudmundsson ranked in the 85th percentile for front-foot defending, which shows he liked to stay touch tight and track runners last season. His 'one-v-one defending' mark of 70 shows he was pretty impressive in trying to stop dribblers attacking down the wings, too. His low 'aerial volume' number (nine), unlike fellow new faces Jaka Bijol and Sebastiaan Bornauw, shows Gudmundsson rarely competed for headers last season. For his age, experience (with the admission of none in the Premier League) and ability to get up and down the left flank, a fee of £10million has the potential to be superb business for Leeds. However, all opinions will have to be held until autumn turns into winter. The attacking output at the sharp end has been lacking from Gudmundsson, but there is potential there for Farke to work with. The left-back seems to have the engine and technical ability to be an outlet and carrier for the team. Advertisement Firpo in the Championship was verging on cheat-code status. It is asking a lot for Gudmundsson to replicate his attacking output in the top flight. Farke may be comfortable with the limited assists his new signing has previously produced. We are yet to see exactly what he wants from his full-backs in the brave new world ahead.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sell-on bonus: Another nice amount for Groningen through English transfer
Former Groningen man Gabriel Gudmundsson will be playing in the Premier League next season. Leeds United have signed the Swedish left-back from Lille for around 12 million euros, once again giving Groningen a substantial fee. Gudmundsson played in Groningen from 2019 to 2021 and completed his transfer to Lille four years ago. The 26-year-old wing-back became a regular in France, making 137 official appearances in four seasons. Fine performances have earned him a move to newly promoted Premier League Leeds. Advertisement Gudmundsson follows in the footsteps of Jørgen Strand Larsen, who, after his transfer to Celta de Vigo, also secured a move to English football's top flight with a €27 million move to Wolverhampton Wanderers after an initial successful loan. This sent several more millions to the far north. Although that amount is lower for Gudmundsson, VI knows that Groningen also managed a resale percentage from Lille in his case. Assuming this percentage is 10 to 15 per cent, the northern club can bank a maximum of 900,000 euros. The 12 million that Leeds is now paying is double what Lille paid in 2021. Gudmundsson is Leeds' fourth new signing this summer. The club, home to Dutchmen Joël Piroe and Pascal Struijk, paid 18 million euros for Udinese defender Jaka Bijol and signed free agent Lukas Nmechma. They also added Belgian defender Sebastiaan Bornaauw to the ranks from VfL Wolfsburg, where Paul Simonis recently took over as manager. Advertisement GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Another critical signing for us' - fans' views on Gudmundsson
We asked for your views on new Leeds signing Gabriel Gudmundsson and what other business the club needs to do this are some of your comments:Tony: Very happy with this pick-up. Seems to be very Firpo-like in attack but with better defensive capabilities. Happy with how we're going, but still need to fill two key positions (goalkeeper and a forward) and add some more quality depth across the This is another critical signing for us. Now we focus on a centre-forward and number 10!Richard: Strong defence is crucial in the Premier League. Also, players who can score out of position. We are up against the best of the best in some teams. Midfield needs strengthening. Attack is OK, but I wonder how Piroe will do against some Good to see solid improvements at the back, but I'm hoping for more exciting signings up As always, the proof of the pudding etc... A solid, if unspectacular, signing. We obviously need to get players in who can handle the physicality of the Premier I'm glad we're signing players for the start of the season, but I still think we need to get ourselves an experienced Premier League midfielder who can play alongside Ao Tanaka, and a goalkeeper who can help keep us clean sheets.
