The incredible stat that makes underrated £4m Leeds United star completely undroppable

Many Leeds United supporters will doubt Daniel Farke’s ability to lead the team to promotion the previous season and possibly even his tactical rigidity, but the statistics indicate he is making every effort.

Leeds became the first team in The Championship to score 90 points without winning promotion. Leeds has made money at that time even though provisions from the previous administration are still in place.

Nevertheless, Leeds has remained competitive under Farke, and the German is among the favorites to lead Leeds to the Premier League on its next try. Yes, Leeds and Farke have performed admirably in the window.

Manor Solomon, Joe Rodon, Sam Byram, and Ethan Ampadu are just a few of Leeds’ outstanding new additions. Archie Gray is now a £40 million player thanks to Farke’s nurturing of youth, while Mateo Joseph is performing well.

However, Ilia Gruev is maybe the most underappreciated of them all. The 24-year-old, a Farke acquisition rather than a deal handled by the transfer team, left Werder Bremen to join Leeds for a steal of £4 million last summer.

One player that Farke has always liked is Nadiem Amiri, along with Ao Tanaka and other players during his time spent working in Germany. However, after arriving, the Bulgarian player needed some time to establish himself on the Leeds team.

But when Ethan Ampadu moved into the middle of the defense around the halfway point of the previous campaign, he finally got a run with the squad. With both hands, he seized it, creating a screen in front of the defense.

He may have been inexpensive, and except from curling in a free-kick against Norwich in a play-off semi-final, he may not have contributed anything. However, Gruev boasts of one astounding statistic.

Gruev has played 33 times for club and country since the year’s beginning. Of those 33, 29 were for Leeds and four were for Bulgaria. During that period, he has contributed to the club and nation keeping an incredible 19 clean sheets.

One clean sheet per three games is the norm; two is extremely rare. After two clean sheets against Bulgaria last week, Gruev is performing at that level, which is extraordinary.

Given that he doesn’t do anything that stands out on the page, his role is underappreciated. However, Gruev’s combative element, cleverness, and passing are essential for Leeds and Bulgaria to stifle the opposition’s onslaught.