Ipswich boss reveals how former Leeds youth star is thriving in the Premier League

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Leif Davis is the player who got away from Leeds United as the 24-year-old becomes a vital part of the Ipswich Town squad. Moreover, the defender has made strides in adjusting from the Championship to the Premier League.

Davis joined Leeds in 2018 and spent five years with the club but struggled to secure a spot in the first team, making just 14 appearances in all competitions.

He also has some experience in the Premier League before Ipswich’s promotion. While at Leeds, he made two brief appearances in the top flight, totaling 31 minutes, before the start of this season.

Davis would leave Leeds in 2021 on a loan stint with Bournemouth, but it was a brief stint. In 2022, he officially moved to Ipswich Town, allowing the player to flourish.

The defender has made 96 appearances for the Premier League side, scoring five goals and registering 36 assists during his three years with The Tractor Boys.

Leif Davis takes steps toward improvement since leaving Leeds

It’s been two years since David left Elland Road permanently, and over these last couple of seasons, the player has made strides in improving his game to become a defender who can go one-on-one with the Premier League’s best forwards.

“In the last year, he had to adjust to playing in the Championship week in and week out and showed his qualities and had to be very robust and resilient as well, in terms of the minutes he played,” Kieran McKenna said (h/t TWTD).

“And now he has taken a very big step up and was certainly very much in at the deep end, first week facing [Liverpool’s] Mo Salah, second week Savinho at [Manchester] City, third week Adama Traore [with Fulham], fourth week [Brighton’s Yankuba] Minteh, fifth week [Tyler] Dibling at Southampton – it’s a position a lot of the Premier League teams are really strong at.

“For him and his defensive game, it’s been a really big challenge but I think he has risen to that challenge well. Like all our players, and all our defenders, there are mistakes and things to learn there, but those things are good feedback.

“The important thing is that he is showing that he is learning those aspects week-by-week. And I think last week was maybe his most impactful game going forward. That is one of his biggest strengths, his physicality in terms of getting forward and the quality of his left foot.”

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