Leeds United have shown since getting promoted back to the Premier League after a 16-year absence that they are capable of splashing the cash in the transfer window to bring new players to the club in the hope that they can improve the team and keep them as a regular top-flight side.

However, as is the case with most clubs that are particularly active in the transfer market, not every deal ends up being a particularly successful one in terms of value for money.

For example, one player that the Whites had to pay a lot to sign is Spanish attacker Rodrigo, who joined in the 2020 summer transfer window from Valencia in a deal worth a reported fee of £26m.

Since making the move to Elland Road, the 31-year-old has made 51 appearances across all competitions but has only managed to find the back of the net on ten occasions, meaning he has cost them a startling £2.6m per strike.

Meanwhile, he's provided just three assists along the way as well, which is undeniably less than what the club would have been hoping for based on the hefty fee they shelled out for him.

In October 2020, just a few months after becoming a Leeds player, Transfermarkt rated Rodrigo's market value at £27m, whereas it now stands at just £13.5m, highlighting a significant drop of 50%, possibly as a result of his lack of consistent goal contributions.

Even though only Raphinha and Dan James have taken more shots at goal in the Premier League than the former Valencia star this term, his percentage of shots on target stands at just 32.4%, which is lower than the likes of Mateusz Klich, Tyler Roberts, Joe Gelhardt, Jack Harrison, Adam Forshaw and Diego Llorente.

This shows that in the absence of Patrick Bamford for the majority of the campaign through injury, the 31-year-old has not been able to provide much of a real goal threat for his side.

As a result, it's hardly a surprise that former striker and pundit Kevin Phillips dubbed him "non-existent" for his efforts.

Taking all of this into account, it could be said that Andrea Radrizzani made the wrong choice in choosing which player he was going to break the bank and spend a big sum of money on.

Moving forward, the best way Rodrigo can repay his transfer fee now would be to fire his team to safety with some goals that can result in them picking up enough points to avoid getting relegated back to the Championship.

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