Leeds United have boasted plenty of talented players throughout their glittering past, with the club’s stature and former glory attracting some exceptional quality to Elland Road.
Before their shock 2004 relegation, the Whites enjoyed a sparkling roster including some of the best players to have graced their pitch. They all created long-lasting legacies, with many going down in Premier League history too.
One such combination was David O’Leary’s lethal early 2000s partnership of Alan Smith and Mark Viduka, which typified the team of the era.
Although both were forced to leave the club as they unravelled financially during that aforementioned demotion from the top flight, they remain one of the most notorious duos of the century.
Given the current scoring struggle plaguing Javi Gracia’s side now, they could certainly do with at least one half of them to partner a Patrick Bamford looking to fire the Yorkshire outfit to safety.
What were Mark Viduka’s stats at Leeds?
Of the two, perhaps the most likely to blend with the 29-year-old Bamford was the towering Australian.
With remarkable quick feet for someone with such a hulking physique, adding him to the Spaniard’s side would definitely offer an injection of goals to quell their current issues.
Before their 2-2 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion, they had scored just once in their last five games in all competitions.
Viduka moved to the club in 2000 and would stay for four years, with a record in front of goal to be proud of. Across his 165 games, he would score 71 times and assist a further 15, more than earning the praise journalist Jon Howe bestowed upon him.
He claimed: “He was an ominous physical specimen, an old-fashioned centre forward in many respects, but mixed a formidable presence with a delicate technique that made him the purest example of a ‘good touch for a big fella’ player you are ever likely to see.”
The 6 foot 2 marksman would have a field day in today’s game playing in Gracia’s favoured 4-4-2, linking up with the equally silky Bamford to great effect.
At his peak, the former Chelsea forward notched 17 goals and assisted a further eight back during the 2020/21 campaign. These are figures that would surely be attained once again when supplemented by someone of this cult hero’s quality.
Although many may have questioned Viduka’s work rate and attitude, his skillset was undoubted and his effectiveness was there for all to see.
Few would snub the opportunity to see a prime version of the 47-year-old back in a Leeds shirt once again, tearing it up with their current generation on the road to safety.