analysis
Matt specialises in football analysis, transfer insight and original feature writing across the Premier League, EFL and Scottish football.
A sports writer for 15 years, Matt graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in 2018 and has developed particular expertise in Arsenal and the wider Premier League while also reporting on clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, Leeds United, Celtic, Rangers and teams across the EFL. He joined Football FanCast as part of its writing team in 2019 before progressing to Assistant Editor and then becoming a Senior Editor in 2021.
His work combines authoritative reporting with data-led analysis, tactical insight and informed transfer assessment. Matt regularly examines how players fit into different systems, what their underlying numbers reveal about their performances and whether transfer targets represent realistic solutions for clubs. His analysis aims to go beyond the headline, explaining not just what has happened but what it means for a team, manager or player.
Matt’s journalism has also appeared through the Press Association, with his work featured by Sky Sports and the Daily Mail. He previously served as Arsenal and Premier League Editor at VAVEL and gained first-hand club-media experience with Chesterfield FC. Over his career, he has interviewed figures including Arsène Wenger, Ray Parlour, Alan Smith, Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton. Matt’s voice has been heard across Arsenal Fan TV and Love Sport Radio.
Through his reporting, analysis and features, Matt brings readers credible football insight grounded in research, statistics, tactical understanding and years of experience covering the professional game.
Today, Matt leads Football FanCast’s features team as Senior Editor, overseeing the publication’s opinion coverage while helping shape its overall editorial standards and content strategy.
Understandably, Leeds United have never quite managed to replace the great Raphinha.
It was in English football that the Brazilian first became a household name and he’s now tearing up LaLiga, scoring 14 goals in 8 games this term.
No one in world football can hold a candle to that level of performance right now, not even Lamine Yamal or Harry Kane.
So, replacing him was always going to be an uphill battle for Leeds. Still, Noah Okafor showed signs last season of being the man to finally step into the winger’s shoes.
How Okafor tore up the Premier League in 2025/26
Looking back at it now, the business Leeds concluded during the summer of 2025 was exceptional.
Yet, it could have gone very wrong. After all, the decision-makers took some gambles. Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injury record at Everton was far from ideal and he had only scored 11 goals in his final two seasons in Merseyside.
Yet, at Elland Road, he has been a revelation. Calvert-Lewin has found the net on 19 occasions in 47 matches.
Okafor was also a gamble. At Milan, the Swiss forward only scored one goal in 15 Serie A outings during 2024/25. He was a livewire but ultimately this was a player who had never lived up to their potential.
In England, the winger was initially met with inconsistency. The 26-year-old scored two goals in his opening five Premier League matches but then went 16 league matches without one.
He ended the season in explosive fashion, proving why Leeds spent £18m on his services.
Alongside Calvert-Lewin in attack, Okafor was electric, finishing the campaign with six goals in his last seven outings before a calf injury curtailed his season.
The definition of a streaky player, the summer arrival had finally come good and was ready to have a big campaign in 2026/27.
How Okafor has regressed
Sadly for Okafor, the Switzerland international has not been able to start the new term with the same vigour as he ended 2025/26.
Whether or not the wide man has regressed is tricky to establish. After all, he did have a barren run of no goals last season, so perhaps this is the norm.
Either way, he’s certainly not playing at the level we saw of him in the dying embers of Leeds’ relegation survival.
He has started five of six Premier League fixtures this term and only has one goal to show for his efforts. He hasn’t played beyond the 76th minute in any game, which just about sums up how his season is going.
While Arsenal is a tough test for any forward given how good their defence was, he was particularly abject at the Emirates Stadium last Saturday.
|
Okafor vs Arsenal |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
71 |
|
Touches |
30 |
|
Accurate passes |
16/19 (84%) |
|
Key passes |
|
|
Accurate crosses |
0/2 |
|
Successful dribbles |
|
|
Progressive carries |
1 |
|
Distance covered |
7.9 km |
|
Shots |
1 |
|
Shots on target |
|
The former Milan attacker didn’t complete a key pass, had just one shot and registered xG and xA tallies of only 0.06 and 0.01. He was essentially anonymous at the top end of the pitch.
Expected Assists (xA) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a pass becoming a goal assist.
If Leeds are to secure a European berth, then those in the forward line are going to need to help Calvert-Lewin. Only he and James Justin of all people have scored more than once.
Leeds have an Okafor replacement in the academy
It is perhaps too soon to totally write off Okafor. After all, he did show in that impressive spell last season he has what it takes to perform at a very high level in the Premier League.
Yet, while Leeds’ depth is not flawless, it is certainly better than it was during their first year back in the big time.
This is a starting XI right now that cannot fit Harry Wilson into it, one of the form players in the division last time out. There has also been no room for another spritely winger in the form of Jean-Matteo Bahoya while Brenden Aaronson continues to linger on the bench.
Okafor knows he needs to improve or the manager will turn to alternative options.
One wildcard pick is in the academy. He goes by the name of Carrick Njinko and unlike the Carrick across the Pennines at Manchester United, he’s having a positive time.
For a long period, Harry Gray has been the darling of the Leeds academy but with the teenager out on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, he is being surpassed by Njinko who has been electric for the U21s.
Just 18 years of age, the youngster is a winger by trade but has played all of his football at academy level as a striker this term. He’s been sensational in that role too, scoring eight goals in nine games.
In Premier League 2, he has been one of the outstanding players so far, bagging six times in three appearances. Compared to his positional peers at that level, he ranks among the finest 3% of forwards for goals per 90 minutes.
But, he’s now showcasing he can do it at senior level too, albeit in the EFL Trophy. Leeds U21s took on League 2 Oldham Athletic on Tuesday night and while they lost 4-2, Njinko stood out.
Appearing as a sub when he was brought on after the interval, the teen scored with his only shot, won 50% of his ground duels and completed seven of his nine passes.
Sure, it was not a jaw-dropping display but he was certainly one of the most vibrant academy players that Leeds had on the field across the tie.
At U21 level, no player has stood out more at Thorp Arch than Njinko this term and it is surely only a matter of time before Daniel Farke unleashes him in the first-team. He looks like he’s ready to explode at a higher level.
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