While Victor Orta was busy readying Leeds United for their assault on the Premier League over the summer, he was also hurrying around improving the club’s academy.
The Spaniard welcomed a host of fresh young faces to Thorp Arch, with the likes of Joe Gelhardt, Cody Drameh, Crysencio Summerville and Sam Greenwood all arriving.
Though, one player out on loan but still lurking as part of the academy is Mateusz Bogusz.
The 19-year-old is a superb midfielder and after rejecting advances from Brighton, he moved from Poland to Yorkshire in 2019.
It’s not the most conventional of routes to take in your football career but he has been improving at a steady rate in the club’s development sides. That being said, he has played just three times for the first-team.
He is now out on loan at UD Logrones in La Liga 2, the second tier of Spanish football where he’s gaining his first consistent taste of senior team football for a number of years. Bogusz has played 14 times for his loan club and has managed two goal contributions in the process.
Those numbers may not be too significant, but his overall performances have demonstrated that he could well make an impact on the Leeds side when he returns. By unleashing him next season, he may well save the club millions in terms of transfer fees.
Pablo Hernandez is out of contract at the end of the current campaign and with Tyler Roberts potentially departing too, there may well be two vacant areas in the middle of the park for someone like Bogusz to exploit.
Leeds have been linked with a number of players in that area, namely Julian Draxler and Rodrigo De Paul. Though, they have also been touted with making a switch for Swansea youngster Yan Dhanda.
We suggested that Dhanda may have what it takes to break down a low block – one of Leeds’ chief problems right now – but they could have a ready-made Hernandez heir right in front of them.
That’s because the teenager is a bundle of attacking energy, someone capable of carving out regular opportunities like Leeds’ Spanish hero.
In the 2020/21 season so far, Bogusz has created 0.8 key passes per game, which, for someone that hasn’t started every match, isn’t bad at all. For context, it’s a tally that would make him the seventh-best creator at Leeds this season.
Of course, he’s playing at a different level, but pivotally, he’s managed more key passes a match than Stuart Dallas, Helder Costa and Hernandez.
Though, the similarities with the Spaniard don’t stop there. He is adept at dribbling and typifies composure and confidence.
Bogusz’s most impressive stat this term is undoubtedly the 1.5 dribbles per game he’s amassed. No player at Leeds this season has managed more, while Hernandez’s best season for take-ons at Leeds saw him register 1.8 successful dribbles on average. Thus, there isn’t a great difference.
The youngster’s improvement and impression this season won’t be a surprise to some, however, especially to his manager at international youth level, Czeslaw Michniewicz. He once told reporters: "He is at a similar level as (Poland international) Sebastian Szymanski in his previous youth. He has great talent."
Having also received the seal of approval from fellow countryman Mateusz Klich, he possesses a whole range of talents that could benefit Leeds.
If they chose to unleash him when he returns from Spain, he could well stop Orta from dipping his toes into the transfer market.