Featured image via The City Talking

There was a time when waiting so long in Leeds for a Brazilian referred to a waiting list at the beauty salon for a ‘downstairs trim’. Not so now, there’s a new Brazilian in town and the waiting is finally over; Adryan Oliveira Tavares has made his first team debut. Leeds fans in general, some on a Facebook group I’m a member of in particular, have been fervently following his limited exposure in U21 Development Squad games and some have been drooling, nay salivating about his ‘skills’ and ‘quick feet’. I’ll admit, I am cautious by nature and sceptical by outlook and I wanted to reserve my judgment until we’d actually seen him in action in a Championship game. Now we have, what has he shown us; was the wait worthwhile?

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Video of Adryan’s debut

First off, it was an encouraging 28 minutes where Adryan showed some enterprise that was sadly lacking amongst the Leeds United players in the second half. Adryan showed a willingness to run at the opposition and had 3 dribbles (12.5% of Leeds’ total of 24 dribbles); what is also encouraging is that all of these dribbles resulted in 3 shots at goal (20% of Leeds’ total of 15 shots) and 1 of these 3 shots was on target (25% of Leeds’ total of 4 shots on target). During these 3 dribbles, Adryan showed not only quickness of feet but also tenacity and balance to drive through and away from defenders and, in doing so, creating space for shooting opportunities. His fleetness of foot seemed to scare the Rotherham defenders and his acceleration allowed him to move away from the initial contact with some ease. This is something that Leeds fans have been calling out for, a midfield player who successfully runs at defenders and who shoots at goal.

Adryan’s shooting vs. Rotherham

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Passing-wise, his accuracy was low at 67% but out of his 10 passing attempts (excluding one headed pass and discounting playing the ball from the centre circle), all passing attempts were in the opposition half and the majority of these around the fringes of the Rotherham box. His pass length was also short at 10 metres showing that he prefers the shorter, more incisive passes and of his 9 passing attempts, 8 (89%) were in a forward direction from where the ball was received.

Adryan’s passing vs. Rotherham

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So, Adryan has appeared in a Leeds United kit for the first time in the Championship, the hype has become reality. It may only be 28 minutes but it was a largely positive 28 minutes. If Darko Milanic continues to play the ‘diamond four’ in midfield, surely Adryan has staked a decent claim for more involvement at the head of said formation. Tuesday’s game against the Canaries might be another cameo performance before Milanic decides whether or not to throw him to the Wolves come Saturday at Elland Road.