MICHAEL CUISANCE TO LEEDS OFF: OH WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN

Featured Image Credit: Bavarian Football Works

Leeds United were awfully close to signing 21-year-old central midfielder Michael Cuisance from Bayern Munich. But the deal fell through due to a reported failed medical.

After much speculation, young starlet Michael Cuisance will not complete a move to Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds, which was believed to be worth around the £20m mark.

A deal was expected to be completed toward the end of the week, but reports suggest complications with a medical on Thursday caused the deal to collapse. 

The signing would have been the Whites’ eighth of the window and would have added an extra dynamic to an already stacked Leeds midfield.

But who exactly is Michael Cuisance and how could he have impacted a strong Leeds United side, who have impressed on their return to the top flight after a lengthy 16-year absence?

Cuisance earned a move to Borussia Monchengladbach from youth football in France in 2017. 

He impressed early on west of the Rhine and won the club's player of the year award in his first season of professional football. 

Fast forward to August 2019 and Cuisance got a big move to German giants Bayern Munich for a fee of €10m, where he has struggled for game time since.

But the main question remains, what have Leeds United missed out on here?

The Strasbourg born midfielder, who has represented France at under-20 level, is a strong box to box midfielder with all the right attributes.

His ball retention is top class and his dribbling is another of his best skills as well as being a great passer of the ball, registering an 81.5% passing accuracy during his breakout season at Monchengladbach.

It is likely that we would have seen Cuisance fit into the 3-5-2 formation that has brought Leeds such joy thus far this season.

Playing alongside the experience of Mateusz Klich in the middle of the park could have proved greatly beneficial for Cuisance in terms of his growth.

Having the solidarity of Kalvin Phillips behind could also have been dramatically effective for Cuisance.

He would have been able to show his quality on the ball and give Leeds an added outlet of creativity which mainly comes from the wide areas with Harrison and Costa at the moment.

You cannot help but feel shades of last year's Dan James transfer saga here. Under Bielsa’s guidance, Cuisance could have been a vital addition to their team, and dare I say one of the coup’s of the summer window.