Leeds United made Rasmus Kristensen their second signing of the summer as they unveiled the Danish international at Elland Road on Wednesday evening. Kristensen joins Leeds on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee, thought to be in the region of £10m.
The 25-year-old links up with Brenden Aaronson and Whites boss Jesse Marsch who have both spent time at Red Bull Salzburg. Kristensen was one of the Salzburg's key players this season, helping the Austrian side to a domestic league and cup double.
He also played every minute of Salzburg's Champions League campaign, which saw the Austrian champions reach the round of 16 before being knocked out by Bayern Munich.
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And the Danish international finished Europe's elite club competition ahead of Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold and Manchester City's Joao Cancelo in one particular stat.
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Kristensen ranked first in the Champions League for the most non-penalty shots among full-backs in the competition last season with 16.
Alexander-Arnold and Cancelo, who ranked second and third, both managed 13 and 11 respectively. Out of the trio, all three played the same number of games, featuring nine times. The stat reveals a major part of what Leeds are getting in Kristensen, a player who has Champions League pedigree.
He is an athletic full-back who loves to get forward, attack and get involved. While he didn't score in the Champions League, he did score 10 goals in all competitions for Salzburg last season. The way the modern game has shifted in recent years has seen full-backs become increasingly important. They need to be able to defend competently while also offer an attacking threat down the flanks.
Alongside Kristensen, former Salzburg team mate Andreas Ulmer also ranked highly on the shots list. The Austrian left-back registered nine shots which sees him rank joint fourth. Those stats suggest Salzburg love to get their full-backs involved in their attacking game plan. Kristensen will offer a different threat to Luke Ayling and Robin Koch, who finished the season at right-back for Leeds.
