Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season and decided to swoop for German head coach Daniel Farke to lead them back to the top-flight.
The former Norwich City boss arrived with a proven track record at Championship level, with two titles to his name, and a reputation for bringing through and developing young players.
He helped the likes of James Maddison, Max Aarons, Todd Cantwell, Andrew Omobamidele, and Ben Godfrey, among others, to flourish during his spell in East Anglia.
His brilliant work with academy talent has already been on show at Elland Road this season with the emergence of 17-year-old Archie Gray, who has been trusted by the manager and made 28 starts in the second tier this term.
However, not every talented young player gets the opportunity to shine in the first-team and some slip through the net, as appears to have been the case with Liam Kitching as they had a howler with the young gem.
Why Liam Kitching left Leeds
The towering central defender started his career with Leeds in the academy system and made the bench for the first-team in the FA Cup during the 2017/18 campaign.
He then spent the following season on loan with Harrogate Town in the National League. The teenage gem made 33 league appearances for the club and this attracted attention from League Two side Forest Green Rovers.
Kitching made a permanent move to the fourth tier side from Elland Road in the summer of 2019 and explained in his first interview with his new club that he wanted to kick on and step up after going out on loan previously, which is why a transfer was agreed.
The 19-year-old titan seemingly did not feel that there was a pathway to being a first-team regular in the near future at Leeds, which forced him to take the long way around to establish himself as a Championship footballer.
Now 24, Kitching is currently starring for Coventry City in the second tier and some may wonder what could have been as the young defender – in another world – could have been Joe Rodon's partner at the heart of the Whites defence.
Liam Kitching's route to Coventry
The left-footed centre-back spent 18 months in League Two with Forest Green Rovers, where he made 53 appearances for the club in all competitions.
His form led to a move to Championship side Barnsley at the start of 2021 but he only played two matches during the second half of the 2020/21 campaign.
He then played 32 league matches for them throughout the following season as they were relegated down to League One, which allowed him to flourish in the third tier.
Kitching started 45 matches in the league during the 2022/23 campaign for Barnsley and caught the eye with his solid defensive work at the back.
The English titan made 2.2 tackles and interceptions per game and won 55% of his duels, which shows that he held his own in physical contests, and this contributed towards his team keeping 16 clean sheets in those 45 outings.
Liam Kitching's current market value
His impressive form in League One convinced Coventry, who lost to Luton in the Championship play-off final last season, to snap him up last summer.
The Coventry Telegraph reported that the club agreed a deal worth in excess of £4m including add-ons to sign him from Barnsley to bolster their defence.
They added that Mark Robins' side had an offer of £2.5m – rising to £3m with add-ons – rejected before they were eventually able to secure his services.
Kitching has been a solid addition to their team so far this season with consistently strong performances at the heart of their backline in the Championship.
The now-24-year-old enforcer has made 18 appearances in the second tier this term and showcased his physicality with a duel success rate of 59%, which shows that opposition players have not found it easy to get the better of him.
He has also made 2.8 tackles and interceptions per game to cut out attacks and win possession back for his side, whilst no natural Leeds centre-back has made more than Rodon's 2.3 tackles and interceptions per match.
As you can see in the chart above, Kitching also ranks highly among his positional peers in the Championship this season when it comes to progressive passes, with 4.26 per 90, which shows that he has been an impressive performer in and out of possession.
The left-footed colossus could have been a perfect partner for Rodon at Leeds, had he made his breakthrough from the academy at Elland Road, to complement the right-footed machine.
Joe Rodon's dominance this season
The Wales international was signed on loan from Tottenham Hotspur last summer and has been an outstanding performer in defence for Farke so far.
Rodon, who dominated Swansea in the club's 4-0 win on Tuesday night, has been in fantastic form with his quality as a dominant defender and a progressive passer at centre-back.
Appearances
29
Sofascore rating
7.21
Pass accuracy
91%
Ground duel success rate
68%
Aerial duel success rate
67%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the 26-year-old Leeds star has got the better of opposition attackers on the floor and in the air the majority of the time throughout the campaign.
This suggests that the Welsh ace has been a reliable defensive presence for Farke due to his physical prowess and positioning to win battles against forwards.
He also ranks within the top 26% of Championship centre-backs for progressive passes (4.09) per 90, which shows that Rodon looks to play the ball forward to build attacks for his team at an above-average rate.
The Spurs loanee and Kitching could, therefore, have been a solid partnership for Leeds as a balanced – with one right-footer and one left-footer – duo as they are both dominant defenders who like to play out from the back to progress play.
This would also have allowed Ethan Ampadu, who is a number six by trade, to continue in midfield, rather than being needed in defence in the absence of Pascal Struijk.
Hopefully, Leeds, who are currently in second place, will earn promotion back to the Premier League and will not look back to rue the howler they had with their homegrown colossus who is now thriving in the same division as them with one of their rivals.
