
Leeds United romped to a 4-0 win over Oxford United on Saturday to stay second in the league table and further burnish their credentials as top contenders for automatic promotion to the Premier League. Manor Solomon was the stand-out performer for Leeds after he returned to the starting eleven and produced a brilliant all-round performance on the left flank of the team.
Wilfried Gnonto’s inconsistent form saw the winger drop to the bench with Solomon getting back in the starting eleven after two encouraging performances from the bench.
Solomon joined Leeds on loan from Tottenham last summer and despite his injury troubles in the last year, there was genuine excitement around his arrival at Elland Road a few months back.
However, the Israeli winger has been in and out of the starting eleven and is yet to cement his place in the team as the competition for places in the wide areas is furious in the Leeds squad due to the options Daniel Farke has.
However, Gnonto’s poor form allowed Solomon to get into the team and he produced a performance against Oxford United which would make it hard for Farke to drop the winger from the starting eleven any time soon.
Solomon showed the talent he possesses that made him such a brilliant player before his injury troubles, which forced Tottenham to sign him a couple of years back.
The winger could be the ace in the pack for Leeds as they push for automatic promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season.
How can anyone drop Manor Solomon after this?
Manor Solomon has made 15 appearances in the Championship this season but it was only his seventh start on Saturday. There is a feeling that he is unlikely to get dropped any time soon.
The Israeli winger was a menace for the Oxford United defence over the weekend and was involved in three of the four goals Leeds scored at Elland Road.
He scored the final goal of the game but created two others – Daniel James’ opening goal in the ninth minute and Brenden Aaronson’s strike in the 67th minute.
Solomon was the creator-in-chief for Leeds on the left flank and showed why he deserves more opportunities to start in the coming weeks.
We have already argued that Solomon deserved to get more chances and he showed on Saturday why he could be a real ace up Farke’s sleeve in the latter half of the season.
He rarely lost the ball and ensured that Leeds kept the pressure on the Oxford United defence throughout the game while he made some penetrating runs into the box.
He needs to remain fit
There is no doubt in Solomon’s talent but one of the reasons Tottenham loaned him out last summer was that he was out for almost a year due to a serious knee injury.
The winger has already missed four games this season due to a hamstring injury and Leeds have had to be more careful to ensure that he remained fit.
However, Solomon is looking fitter and stronger and is raring to go for the latter half of the season. It would be hard for Farke to drop him now but he needs to be more consistent and more importantly, fitter.
With Wilfried Gnonto struggling to hit form this season, Solomon has a wonderful opportunity to cement his place in the starting eleven and get a run of games.
Leeds have a busy run of games in the next ten days and the Spurs loanee could be the ace in the pack for Leeds to make a decisive push in the next few games.
Solomon could be the attacking threat that the Whites need to unlock defences away from home with three of their next four games on the road.
