MOT View: How did Leeds loanee Ryan Edmondson fare on his Aberdeen debut?
As far as baptisms of fire go, moving from Leeds United to Aberdeen on loan on Friday and then being thrown straight into action against Rangers on Saturday is a pretty big challenge.
But that’s exactly the situation that Ryan Edmondson found himself in this week when he was given a 32 minute cameo against the Gers at Pittodrie.
And while in many respects this was a thankless task for the 19-year-old, there were definite signs that he could come good north of the border.
Over the course of his second half appearance, Edmondson completed 10 successful actions, which is more than he has managed in the entirety of the 60 combined minutes he has played for Leeds’ first team, as per Wyscout.
Included in those 10 actions, he made seven successful passes and won two aerial duels.
Make no mistake, this was an unspectacular performance from the teenager.
He had no attempts on goal, make no dribbles, and had an xG of nothing.
But that was largely a reflection of Aberdeen’s lacklustre performance, rather than anything he specifically did wrong.
And as his pass map, shown above, illustrates, he was economical in possession, got around the pitch well, and held up the ball well with his back facing goal.
Equally, he showed good physicality too.
Largely having to deal with long balls fired into him in hope rather than with any kind of genuine intent, Edmondson was able to get up above his man on more than one occasion and retain possession for his side.
In the image above, for example, he gets up so well and so early that his opponent can’t even get off the ground.
As far as debuts go, this wasn’t a classic by any means.
But there was enough commitment, hard work, and maturity in Edmondson’s performance to suggest that he can still come good for Aberdeen this season, given the right opportunities.
And at the end of the day, that can only be a good thing for Leeds United.
In other Leeds United news, Premier League side will let star join Leeds for free if Whites can match £65k/wk wages – report