Raphinha replacement was never going to be a tag which weighed lightly on the shoulders of the chosen one. As a South American winger with a decent scoring record on the continent, Luis Sinisterra was the anointed one at Leeds United.
As keen as the 23-year-old was to make a good first impression, the rug was pulled from under him before he even got started. Thirty-minute bursts against Brisbane Roar and Aston Villa in pre-season were rusty and hard to read, before a hamstring injury against Crystal Palace set him back even further.
Sinisterra would miss out on the opening day entirely before cameos against Southampton and Chelsea again left much to be desired. As with the opening weeks of Raphinha’s time at Leeds, it was a slow, flickering start before it really caught light.
