The Leeds United team that ended nearly two decades away from the Premier League back in 2019/20 was pretty special.
At the top of the pitch, you had Patrick Bamford banging in the goals. In midfield you had a young Kalvin Phillips patrolling the backline.
In defence, you had a prime Liam Cooper and a fresh-faced Ben White stopping everything that got in their way.
That said, no player was quite as marvellous as a certain Pablo Hernandez.
What made Pablo Hernandez so special
It is safe to say they don’t make footballers quite like this anymore.
Gone are the days of beautiful technicians playing the game. Now the Premier League is full of brutes; it’s as physical a league as you will come across in world football.
It’s played a big part in Daniel Farke’s recruitment since they earned promotion again in 2025. The likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jaka Bijol and James Trafford – three big figures – among others have all arrived.
So, it would seem that there is no room for a player like Hernandez.
Standing at just 5 foot 8, he was remarkably small. Yet, that did not impact his performance levels.
No, this was a player who was just glorious to watch. His quick feet were a sight to behold; the way he could glide past an opponent with such ease was remarkable.
Yet, above all, he had end product. This was a player who, en route to winning three successive Player of the Season awards, scored 36 goals and supplied 41 assists for Leeds.
Why Leeds still miss Pablo Hernandez
While the Premier League may not be home to many creative technicians of Hernandez’s ilk in the modern era, there is still room for a player like him.
Just check out Martin Odegaard at Arsenal. With four goals already this season, the Gunners skipper is one of the form players in the country and is cut from a similar cloth as Hernandez.
Truth be told, despite the big figures in the current Leeds squad, they still miss Hernandez; they lack creativity.
During his prime, the Spaniard made 2.7 key passes per game in the Championship. To put that number into context, no player has made more than 1.2 key passes per match in the Premier League for Leeds this season. Anton Stach is the man with that tally.
Last term, Stach topped the charts in that regard again, but he made 2.1 key passes on average every game, still behind Hernandez.
So, if Leeds are to really put themselves in contention for a European place, they will need to source more creativity from somewhere. Harry Wilson, despite a sluggish start to life at Elland Road, could be the man to provide just that if and when he finally gets up to speed.
How Leeds have found their best player since Hernandez
Even with Leeds flitting between a place in the second tier and the Premier League in recent years, they have still had some incredible players in their ranks.
Perhaps the best player since those days of Hernandez was Raphinha. It’s hard to dispute the claim that the Brazilian is the best player in the world right now.
After a £55m move to Barcelona, he has been in sensational form for the Catalan giants and is now taking his game to new levels. In 2026/27, the forward has scored 14 goals in eight games. It’s remarkable to think he wasn’t nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
Given Leeds’ improvement this term, it would not be a surprise if they were able to replicate a similar sale in the years to come.
Well, stand by, Tarik Muharemovic could be on the move before too long and he could be sold for a club-record £60m fee.
The Bosnian signed for Leeds over the summer from Sassuolo in Italy for a price tag of £34.1m and he has been immense since arriving in English football.
He’s a giant, a colossus, a weapon at the back and in the final third. In all honesty, he’s cut from a similar cloth as Raphinha and Hernandez.
Sure, he might not be a creative force or a tricky forward player but the performance levels and what he could go on to achieve suggest he is one of their best players since those two pulled on Leeds colours.
Why? Well, left-footed and standing at a gigantic 6 foot 4, he’s a truly unique profile, the sort of player the top clubs would all love to sign. Aged just 23 as well, this is a young man with a huge future ahead of him.
This season, no defender in the whole Leeds squad has registered more defensive contributions per 90 minutes than the big Bosnian centre-back (11.6). Furthermore, no one at Leeds has made more interceptions per 90.
Despite Calvert-Lewin’s goal record this term, Muharemovic is very quickly becoming Leeds’ most important player, their best player. He is a rock at the back, and he’s capable of magical moments too.
That overhead kick in pre-season was simply jaw-dropping. How did a defender pull that off? We’re still trying to work out how; we’ll be honest with you.
So, after such a glittering array of performances, is it any wonder he is already valued at £60m? TEAMtalk reported this week that Leeds have a tough battle to keep hold of the defender just months after he arrived.
German giants Bayern Munich are increasingly keen on signing him in a future transfer window. For the Whites, this would be a big disappointment, but it is a testament to just how well the recruitment team did to identify him and then get a deal across the line.
Leeds have well and truly hit the jackpot on this one.
