Leeds United forward Rodrigo looked to have finally arrived at Elland Road after he kickstarted the 2022/23 campaign with four goals and one assist from their opening three matches.

He even took the armband during the shock 3-0 win over Chelsea and his two appearances but then he dislocated his shoulder, causing him to miss the 5-2 defeat to Brentford.

It remains to be seen if he'll be back in time to face Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

The 31-year-old is already just two goals off the feat he managed last term (six) and that only goes to show just how much of a flop he has been since his then club-record £27m move from Valencia in the summer of 2020.

A return of 17 goals from a total of 68 appearances - an average of one every 252 minutes - is a pretty poor return from any striker, let alone one that cost more than any other player in the club's history prior to that transfer window.

Rodrigo is thought to also be on £100k-per-week in west Yorkshire, so when you factor in the total spent on him so far - roughly £37.8m over 108 weeks - then he's cost chairman Andrea Radrizzani £2.2m per goal, thus representing pretty poor business from director of football Victor Orta.

Bagging only six goals in the long-term absence of Bamford was pretty poor indeed and even led to ex-talismanic striker Kevin Phillips deem him to be "non-existent" to Football Insider.

Now on the wrong side of thirty, the Spaniard's transfer value has plummeted, largely - you'd imagine - due to his inability to be a regular source of goals for the club since his move.

CIES Football Observatory currently value the 31-year-old attacker at just €8m (£7m), which is a decrease of 74%.

As we've seen this season, though, there is hope that Rodrigo can be that leading man for Leeds United at long last but the overall evidence does not paint the prettiest of pictures.

On that basis, it's fair to suggest that this transfer has been a disastrous one by Orta and his recruitment staff. That said, with the former Valencia man under contract until 2024, there is still time to turn that ship around.

AND in other news, Leeds hit the jackpot on "unbelievable" £7k-p/w gem who could become "one of the best"...