Anita 2.0: Farke signing already looks like he’ll never make it at Leeds
A large portion of Daniel Farke’s summer signings at Leeds United stood out in the Whites’ dramatic 3-3 draw against Liverpool last time out.
Indeed, Dominic Calvert-Lewin would have loved following up his instinctive effort against Chelsea with a penalty goal against the Reds, having just recently waved goodbye to Everton.
Anton Stach also got in on the goalscoring act as another new recruit from Hoffenheim, before Ao Tanaka – who triumphantly lifted the Championship title last season – hammered home the crucial equaliser.
Unfortunately, not every fresh face that arrived at Elland Road this off-season has instantly gelled, with Farke now in danger of having his very own Vurnon Anita, six years on from the ex-Newcastle United midfielder’s uneventful stint in West Yorkshire.
Remembering Anita's shambolic stay at Leeds
Leeds would have felt they’d struck gold by being able to land the now 36-year-old on a free transfer in 2017, considering Anita was just fresh off a Championship promotion with the Magpies, and the Whites were desperately looking to break back into the Premier League.
On top of his EFL experience, the three-time Eredivisie winner had also amassed 106 Premier League appearances on Tyneside as a useful utility presence, with one of his former Toon coaches, John Carver, once stating that he always has the “same attitude and commitment” wherever he’s thrown into the XI.
Games played
22
Minutes played
1620 mins
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Wage per week
£25k-per-week
Wage costs for a year
£1.3m
Unfortunately for the Whites, though, they never managed to get the best out of Anita, who could play at left-back or right-back at a moment’s notice, away from his central midfield duties, with an unmemorable 22 first-team appearances all she wrote on his forgettable Leeds career.
His high £25k-per-week salary came under plenty of scrutiny, therefore, with Anita – who wasn’t even registered as an outfield player for Leeds during the 2018/19 campaign – branded as a “huge waste of money” by ex-Leeds player Noel Whelan, after he was chucked to one side by Marcelo Bielsa.
Surely, if Leeds could turn back time, they would never have gambled on the Curacao international to come good, with a worryingly similar tale playing out in the here and now for Farke…
Farke's very own Anita
Thankfully, Leeds already look to be vindicated in their decision to bring in the aforementioned Calvert-Lewin on a free transfer, with no Anita-style repeat on the cards here, as the Sheffield-born striker already boasts four Premier League goals for Farke’s men.
The same, however, cannot be said for Sebastiaan Bornauw, who appears to be destined for the exit door, just a matter of months after sealing a move to England for a modest £5.1m fee from Wolfsburg.
Yet, at the time of the capture, Leeds would have thought they’d acquired a diamond in the rough, with the 26-year-old accumulating 140 Bundesliga appearances for both Wolfsburg and FC Köln, meaning the hope would be that he could be a dependable cover option at the back for Farke.
Fast forward to the present, though, and the deal to bring the four-time Belgium international to English shores has already been dismissed as “laughable” as per Leeds-based content creator Lewis Deighton, with Bornauw only fit enough for a paltry two minutes of Premier League action so far.
This is a far cry from when Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley was hailing the capture of Bornauw as an indicator that Leeds had conducted some “excellent” summer business back in July, with the lofty number 23 already out of action for four games this season, owing to recurring knee issues.
Estimated to be on a bumper £45k-per-week pay packet, too, all the current signs are pointing in the direction that Bornauw is Leeds’ modern-day iteration of Anita.
For context, both Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu are on a lesser £40k-per-week salary each, reportedly.
Further dubbed as looking “terrible” against Sheffield Wednesday in the EFL Cup by commentator Sam Matterface, on what has been his only start to date, he only won 50% of his duels against lower league opposition.
It really does feel as if Bornauw’s stay at Elland Road will be extremely short-lived, as he just goes down as a forgotten flop, like Anita before him.
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