Why Lewis Cook could be our best ever signing

AFC Bournemouth have poached Leeds United’s best player. The fact that I can actually type out those words - and that they’re not a work of fiction- is somewhat mind boggling to me.

Mind boggling but also incredibly welcome - as the player we’ve nabbed is none other than Lewis Cook, the Football League’s most recent Young Player of the Year.

I’ve spoken before about how my club receives little respect from opposition fans, and this recent transfer was no different - with Leeds fans going into a collective meltdown on Twitter about the move.

Stadium size comparisons were thrown forward like they meant something in this now TV-money powered sport, a few insults were thrown at Cook for his lack of ambition (like staying at a failing club you mean?), and there was - unsurprisingly - a lot of hatred for Leeds Chairman Massimo Cellino.

I would say Cellino is a divisive figure, but that wouldn’t be quite right - as that would suggest that there are some people out there who are willing to stand up for him.

The fact that this move annoyed a lot of Leeds fans was merely the icing on top of the cake though - the most important thing is that we have bought in a player who has the potential to be Eddie Howe’s best ever signing.

Winning the aforementioned Football League Young Player of the Year award is one thing, but there’s also the fact that he’s almost exactly what we need - a deep lying midfielder who can drive forward with the ball, but who also isn’t afraid to put in a tackle (see picture below).

After all the strikers and wingers we’ve signed - as well as ones we’ve also been linked to, such as Jordan Ibe - I was concerned that we’d have to play a 1-2-7 formation just to fit them all in the side, so it’s good to see that Eddie is aware that we do actually need some less attack minded players.

It’s fair to say that Cook has scarily large amount of potential too, and has been touted by many Leeds fans as being a future captain of England. That might be a touch hyperbolic, but that such a thing is even being suggested can be only a good sign.

So why then were we almost unchallenged when it came to getting his signature? Far from showing that there’s something wrong with Cook himself, I think it actually demonstrates something that’s rotten with top flight football today.

AFC Bournemouth are one of the few sides in the Premier League which will actually take a risk on a younger player - this is part of the club’s ethos and has been for many years. It’s also a necessary step, as attracting fully developed players is always going to be difficult considering how much money there is sloshing around at the top table of football - competing with the best sides in terms of wages is almost impossible.

This also means that the larger sides don’t want to take risks on younger players, they want the finished articles - and will happily pay over the odds to get them. Paul Pogba is a great example - Manchester United effectively let him go as a youngster, but are now allegedly willing to pay 100 million pounds to get him back.

This fast food football is more than a little sad - but if I get to see a future England captain playing and developing in front of my very eyes then maybe, just maybe, it’s not so bad. Their loss is our gain.