Player Leeds United sold for £1.5m last summer now has double the assists of Mohamed Salah this season

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Leeds United may now be wishing they didn’t sell defender Leif Davis last summer as he’s having a fantastic season with Ipswich Town.

The 23-year-old was sold by Leeds at the start of the season for £1.5m as he dropped down to League One.

It was an interesting move given his performances in the two seasons before this campaign.

He had been introduced to the first team at Leeds United by Marcelo Bielsa.

The legendary coach was a big fan of Davis and gave him his Premier League debut against Manchester City.

A clip of Bielsa praising the full-back went viral that season as his instructions could be heard echoing around an empty stadium.

The following year, Davis went on loan to Bournemouth and helped them achieve promotion from the Championship.

He only made 12 appearances that season and would have had no interest in making the move permanent.

A report from The Athletic suggests that Bielsa experimented with playing Davis as a centre-back.

He was a big fan, and his judgement on players is very rarely wrong.

It’s poignant that Leif Davis has had such a good season at Ipswich when Leeds have struggled to find a consistent answer at left-back.

Pascal Struijk started the campaign in that role under Jesse Marsch before Junior Firpo returned from injury.

However, the 26-year-old didn’t help himself at the weekend in Sam Allardyce’s first home game in charge.

He gave away a penalty before being sent off in the final moments and picking up a ban before the club’s biggest game of the season.

Davis has unbelievable Ipswich season after Leeds exit

Leif Davis has recorded 14 assists in an Ipswich Town side who have been magnificent in League One this season.

Having already played in England’s top two divisions, it was a risk to step down to this level.

However, it’s paid off immediately, and he’s doubled the number of assists Jack Grealish, Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland have achieved.

When asked about his chance creation, Davis said: “It’s a big part of my game.

“I saw a stat the other day that I’d created the most chances in the EFL. I was delighted when I looked down the list and realised they were all, apart from me, attacking players.

“I was the only defender. I just love getting up and down the pitch, trying to create goals.”

Leeds will hope that their decision to let Davis go to Ipswich won’t look like a bad decision over the next few years.

Their more immediate concern will be to make sure they’re not going up against him in the Championship next season.