EPL Transfer Spotlight: Leeds’ Luis Sinisterra

Leeds’ busy summer transfer window continues with the signing of winger Luis Sinisterra in a deal worth £21m.

The 23-year-old penned a five-year contract to join Elland Road after leaving Dutch club Feyenoord, becoming Leeds United’s sixth summer signing after Brenden Aaronson, Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca, Darko Gyabi and Tyler Adams.

The Colombian prefers playing out wide as a winger, offering Jesse Marsch a potential replacement for Raphinha, who transferred to Barcelona. In the wake of the departures of important players like Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips, Leeds has moved quickly bring in reinforcements.

Upon joining, Sinesterra said

It’s amazing to be here. The team is amazing and they gave me a warm welcome. I’m enjoying my time already. It’s a beautiful team. Leeds gave me the confidence from the beginning when we started talking, the coach also gave me the confidence and that’s why I chose Leeds. Also, it’s an historic club with beautiful fans and I feel ready to compete in the Premier League.

Background

The winger was born on 17 June 1999 in Santander de Quilichao, Colombia. He began his football career with Colombian side Once Caldas and eventually established himself in the first team. With 43 appearances for his boyhood club in two years, the youngster managed to capture the attention of Dutch side Feyenoord where he – in July 2018 – signed a three-year contract with an option for two more for a reported fee of €2 million.

The right-footed winger regularly played for Feyenoord’s U-21 side and made seven senior appearances during his first season at De Kuip. His Eredivisie debut came against De Graafschapon on 8 August 2018, and he scored his first senior goal for Feyenoord against Dinamo Tbilisi in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round on 8 August 2019. He established himself as a first-team regular during the 2019-20 campaign.

During the 2020-21 campaign, he missed more than a dozen games due to injury but returned in December to make 25 appearances in all competitions, netting five goals and providing seven assists.

In the UEFA Europa Conference League, the Columbian scored in both legs of the quarter-final against Slavia Prague. He continued his pace further with a goal and an assist in the semifinal against Marseille. That win secured a 3-2 victory to progress to the final where they were beaten by winners AS Roma. The winger was named the Europa Conference League Young Player of the Season and was also selected in the Europa Conference League Team of the Season, thanks to his brilliant performances.

How Will Sinisterra Fit in At Leeds?

With Raphinha joining Barcelona, Sinisterra will now be expected to bear the mantle of flair player for Leeds. The youngster is known to be the hungry sort who tends to take advantage when given the chance, having scored 35 goals plus 29 assists in 113 games at Rotterdam across all competitions.

Speedy and tricky, Sinisterra prefers to operate on the left wing, cutting inside onto his favoured right foot. In transition he very often receives the ball just inside the opponent’s half and then drives into space to create gaps for his teammates pushing forward.

His improvement under Arne Slot helped unlock his creative potential, the Dutchman finishing the season as Feyenoord’s assist leader. However, the Colombian still has room to learn in the crossing department. He had a 35% accurate cross rate last season, and very often went multiple consecutive games without a single one.

Happily for a team like Leeds that sometimes lacks balance, Sinesterra offers a decent defensive work rate. With almost 120 interceptions made this season, he has good anticipation to hold/break up the opposition’s play. According to Instat, he has a 59% tackling success rate.

Fantasy Prospects

Although FPL fan-favorite Raphinha has made his exit from Elland Road, Sinisterra could turn out to be an attractive real-life and fantasy replacement. With 24 goals from an xG of 13.4, the young winger exceeded expectations at Feyenoord, and his average of 3.81 progressive runs per game were crucial to Feyenoord’s attacking threat. His creativity, explosive pace, confidence, and work rate mean he’s likely to become a vital part of Jesse Marsch’s team too.

However, there are a lot of players competing with Sinisterra for our attention, so many fantasy managers may be reluctant to shell out £6.5m on an asset that has no track record in the Prem. The 23 year-old has plenty of time to improve though, and if he can adapt to Marsch’s style of play his introductory price may ultimately prove to be a bargain. Time will tell.

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Stats, quotes and info for this article were sourced from [fantasypremierleague.com, leedsunited.com, breakingthelines.com]

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What do you think about Sinisterra? Is he already in your fantasy plans, or will you wait to see how Leeds United’s results unfold next season? Join us and share your thoughts in the comments below.

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