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Micah Richards has claimed that Leeds United are going to be a success if new summer signing Rodrigo can make an impact on the team.

The Whites signed Rodrigo for a club-record transfer fee of £26million (BBC) from Spanish club Valencia and he’s arrived at Elland Road to try bolster their frontline.

Rodrigo, 29, has proven himself to be a quality striker from his time in Spain with Valencia and also in Portugal with Benfica, while he also had the briefest of spells in England with Bolton Wanderers in the early stages of his career.

The Spain international joins the Yorkshire club with a lot of expectation on his shoulders to deliver and ensure they avoid an immediate relegation back to the Championship.

He is a left-footed forward that is extremely intelligent with his movement around the box and looks like he could suit the system well under manager Marcelo Bielsa.

Pundit Richards has discussed Leeds ahead of the new Premier League campaign and singled out Rodrigo as a vital individual for them.

“Leeds create chances and score lots of goals and I don’t believe they will lose any of their potency at a higher level. I like the signing of Rodrigo and if he fires, the team will fire,” Richards told the Daily Mail.

TBR’s View:

Patrick Bamford won’t be wanting to give up his Leeds starting position so easily after playing a crucial role in promotion last season, but new arrival Rodrigo is on a different level in terms of his pedigree and quality.

Bielsa will surely give the nod to Rodrigo in the early stages of his career and Leeds fans will have been excited by what they saw of him in a Spain shirt during the international break.

He should get plenty of opportunities in a Leeds system that play fluent football and create lots of chances, but will also need to show a great work-rate in defending from the front.