Ipswich Town have paid a seven-figure fee to sign left-back Leif Davis from Leeds United. STUART WATSON profiles the 22-year-old.
EARLY DAYS
Born in Newcastle on New Year's Eve 1999, Davis didn't enter the professional game until relatively late.
He played for Cramlington Juniors from the ages of six to 15 and then represented Wallsend Boys Club for a year, the renowned Tyneside club that has produced dozens of Geordie stars such as Peter Beardsley, Steve Bruce, Alan Shearer and Michael Carrick.
Off the back of that, in 2016, struggling League Two club Morecambe offered him a two-year scholarship.
"It was a big shock going from Sunday League football for 10/11 years to a professional club," he admits. "It was a big step for me."
The Shrimps finished 18th and 22nd in the fourth-tier under Jim Bentley between 2016 and 2018. Davis didn't make his senior debut during that period but did regularly train with the first team.
BIG MOVE
It was then that Leeds United came calling for the 18-year-old as part of their youth recruitment drive.
The Yorkshire club, who had just finished 13th in the Championship, had already snapped up Sam Dalby (Leyton Orient), Ryan Edmondson (York City)and Jordan Stevens (Forest Green) from lower league clubs.
"That was mind blowing for me," admitted Davis upon reflection. "I was shocked, thinking 'is it real or not?"
Upon penning a three-year deal at Elland Road, he said: “I’m absolutely buzzing. It shows if you put the hard work in, you can get the rewards.
“I’m a modern day attacking left back and I love getting forwards. My aim is to play in the first team one day.
“Playing with better players makes you a better player."
DIFFICULT DEBUT
After impressing for Carlos Corberan’s in-form Under-23s, Davis was quickly promoted into the first team set-up by newly appointed boss Marcelo Bielsa.
He was first named on the bench for a 4-1 defeat at West Brom on November 10. Three more times after that he was an unused substitute.
Then, out of the blue, he went straight into the starting XI for a match at Aston Villa on December 23 after Barry Douglas feel ill in the warm-up. It was his professional debut.
Leeds went 2-0 down inside 17 minutes to goals from Tammy Abraham and Conor Hourihane, but stormed back in the second half as Jack Clarke and Pontus Jansson goals levelled the match before Kemar Roofe bagged a dramatic last minute winner.
TalkSPORT reported: "While he looked okay moving forward with the ball as Leeds were on the attack, Davis was given the run around by Aston Villa’s forwards – especially Yannick Bolasie and Jonathan Kodjia.
"Though there were calls for Davis to be withdrawn at half-time, he was eventually substituted with about a quarter-of-an-hour remaining and Leeds subsequently completed their comeback."
His only other start that season was in a 2-1 FA Cup third round defeat at QPR.
Over the following weeks, Davis got late cameos against Derby, Rotherham and Swansea. The door was ajar when first-choice left-backs Ezgjan Alioski and Douglas suffered injuries in consecutive games towards the end of April. Davis, however, suffered a set-back of his own at exactly the same time and had to undergo knee surgery.
Leeds, after finishing third, lost to Frank Lampard's Derby County in the Play-Off semi-finals.
BIDING HIS TIME
Leeds would secure promotion to the Premier League during the Covid-curtailed season which followed.
Davis was restricted to just two starts (both in the League Cup) and three sub outings (totalling 13 minutes).
Midway through that campaign, Bielsa said: "Davis is a great player, full of future, resources and skills, but so far (Ezgjan) Alioski, (Barry) Douglas and (Stuart) Dallas are playing.
“Maybe for this reality he is not inside the group of 11, but all his tendencies are good. In my opinion, Davis was far from the first team in our first year and after he worked a lot in the team, with brilliant willing, a lot of effort, dedication, he gives everything. Never demand for nothing.
“After he became a better player he started to strengthen his play, which before he didn’t have.”
TASTE OF TOP-FLIGHT
Davis made his Premier League debut on October 3, 2020, coming on the in the 77th minute of a pulsating 1-1 home draw with Manchester City.
The BBC report described the game, in which Rodrigo equalised at the death, as 'glorious chaos... a real end-to-end encounter'.
Davis was up against Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva down that side of the pitch during the closing stages.
His next taste of top-flight action came against Manchester United almost three months later.
Leeds were 6-1 down at Old Trafford by the time Davis was introduced, as a centre-back, to face the likes of Edinson Cavani and Martial. The game ended 6-2.
Davis' only starts that season came in the cups. That included getting subbed in the 58th minute of an embarassing 3-0 defeat at League Two side Crawley Town in the FA Cup third round.
The Yorkshire Evening Post gave Davis a rating of four that day, writing: "A solid first half, a poor second half. Ashley Nadesan managed to get at him to good effect. Gave the ball away in the lead up to the second goal."
LEARNING ON LOAN
Davis was loaned to Championship club Bournemouth on the eve of last season.
He arrived too late to play in the opening day 5-0 home thrashing of MK Dons in the Carabao Cup. Then, after a couple of cameo displays in the league, his full debut ended in a 6-0 defeat at the hands of Norwich City in the Carabao Cup second round.
Dorset Live said of Davis' display that night: "One of the few bright sparks. Got forward well first half with several underlaps but his impact waned second half."
The fantastic form of Jordan Zemura subsequently kept Davis out the team. And when the Zimbabwean international picked up an ankle injury in November, boss Scott Parker initially opted to play right-back Adam Smith at left-back.
Davis finally made his full league debut for the Cherries on November 6 and really took his chance in a 4-0 home thrashing of Swansea.
"I was pleased for him," said Parker. "He’s had to wait for his opportunity. He’s struggled since coming in for many reasons. He’s had injury and illness so it’s been a bit of a stuttering start.
"He’s also a young player and he’s not got vast experience in the arena so we’ve had to work and help him through that.
"What pleased me the most is that he started slowly today, then he just grew into the game. He was an animal really and got an assist."
Dorset Live said: "Rather plainly, the first 20 minutes were arduous for a player who had essentially come in from the cold. With a different referee, who failed to control the match throughout, he may have conceded a penalty. But he didn't and, after that, certainly grew in belief. He didn't get beaten by his direct opponent, Ethan Laird, again and made improved decisions on the ball.
"The timing of his overlap for Dominic Solanke's second goal was precise and his crossing assist was exquisitely placed. Given the rather lonely spell he's had on the south coast since joining, his performance was exemplary."
Davis started the subsequent games at Derby (3-2 loss) and Millwall (1-1 draw), but soon found himself out the team again as Smith and Robbie Brady were preferred at left-back before Zemura returned to fitness.
FA Cup third round weekend again provided Davis with a rare start, Bournemouth winning 3-1 at Yeovil, with that performance enough to keep him in the team for subsequent matches against Luton (3-2 away loss) and Hull (1-0 away loss).
He would start just two more games after that. The first was an embarassing 1-0 home loss to non-league side Boreham Wood in the FA Cup fourth round. The second saw him limp off in the 12th minute of a 2-0 home win against Derby, on March 12, with a hip flexor problem.
Bournemouth opted against triggering their £1.5m option to buy clause.
WHAT MCKENNA'S SAID
Leeds boss Jesse Marsch, short on left-back options ahead of the new campaign, took a look at Davis during a recent pre-season tour of Australia.
Ultimately, he sanctioned the 22-year-old's seven-figure sale. It's understood there were plenty of Championship suitors, but Ipswich won the bidding war.
If various add-on clauses are met in the deal, it has the potential to be the most any third-tier club has ever spent on a defender.
That's a lot of money for someone with just 16 senior starts to his name.
“He’s someone that we’ve watched a lot and know, we think, very well," explained Blues boss Kieran McKenna.
“He ticks all the boxes that we’re looking for; really good age, lots of room to grow and improve, hungry to establish his career now and get a run of games and see what level he can hit.
"He's a fantastic athlete, a really good runner, good speed, good speed endurance, excellent at getting up and down the line and has a really good left foot.
“It wasn’t an easy one to get done, the club worked very hard on it and we think he’s going to be a good addition for us for now.
“But also he’s a very young player still and hasn’t played a whole catalogue of games in his career, so he’s going to need lots of support, he’s going to need encouragement and patience at times from everyone, which is the case for all young players.
"But we think that if he can reach anywhere near his potential then we’ve got a really good prospect on our hands.”
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