Leeds United will hope their recent poor form doesn't cost them dear when it comes to winning automatic promotion at the end of the action-packed 46-game Championship season, having fallen to a dismal 1-0 loss to Blackburn Rovers last match to pile on the misery.
Sammie Szmodics was the Riversiders man to break Leeds hearts at Elland Road in that one, showing to everyone why he's the division's top scorer with 24 strikes by confidently finishing past Illan Meslier late on.
Not all hope is lost from a Leeds perspective however, with Daniel Farke hoping just one positive result can bring back the feel-good factor to the Whites camp and can see automatic promotion still be secured.
It's not quite as bad as when the West Yorkshire side were struggling to even finish in mid-table in the second tier under forgotten managers such as Garry Monk, with one transfer misfire from that poor period in the Whites' recent history not fondly remembered today.
Eunan O'Kane's time at Leeds
All the way back in 2016, Monk would make the signing of Eunan O'Kane on transfer deadline day by swooping in for the former Republic of Ireland international to prise him away from AFC Bournemouth right at the last minute.
At the time, this was seen as a shrewd and sensible purchase with O'Kane garnering a reputation at the Cherries for being a steady, if unspectacular presence in the middle of the park.
He would make 118 appearances for a Bournemouth side that managed to rise all the way up from League One to the Premier League at the time, before the allure of Leeds came calling.
It ended up being a move that the Irish midfielder would regret making, going on to amass a forgettable 58 appearances for the Whites across two seasons before hanging up his boots at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.
He would pick up six assists from those two seasons donning Leeds white, but it would be a spell in his career that would be remembered for O'Kane never really being able to lay down a marker and successfully become a consistent starter under Monk and then the multiple managers that followed his failed tenure.
1. GK – Rob Green
2. RB – Luke Ayling
3. CB – Pontus Jansson
4. CB – Kyle Bartley
5. LB – Charlie Taylor
6. CM – Eunan O'Kane
7. CM – Liam Bridcutt
8. RM – Hadi Sacko
9. CAM – Pablo Hernandez
10. LM – Stuart Dallas
11. ST – Marcus Antonsson
Lining up alongside Leeds royalty for his debut in the form of the recently retired Stuart Dallas alongside Luke Ayling and Pablo Hernandez, O'Kane isn't quite remembered in the same vein as that esteemed trio eight years on from that occasion.
O'Kane would remain on the Leeds books even when Marcelo Bielsa was in charge despite the Irishman being loaned out to Luton Town twice, with the central midfielder retiring in 2021 to bring his subdued Whites stay finally to a halt.
The damage had been already done with O'Kane's wage over those quiet campaigns he flirted with a first-team spot in, costing the Whites £2.6m in wages alone.
It could even be said that O'Kane goes down as being even more of a transfer mishap than the recent disastrous flop Marc Roca has turned into for Leeds when leaving Germany behind for England, with Leeds at least still hopeful they cash in on that dud when the time is right.
Positionally similar to the Spaniard, the Whites are at least set to secure a transfer fee from the former Bayern Munich ace. More on him later, though.
Euan O'Kane's wage at Leeds
From the outside looking in, the former Leeds number 14's salary of £13k per week during the 2017/18 season – a £1k per week increase from the season prior – wouldn't have dented the Whites bank account too much.
However, in the long-term, that reasonable-looking pay packet would begin to cost the club dear with Leeds having to pay O'Kane £2.6m in wages over two unmemorable seasons in West Yorkshire which would have especially hurt when everything went wrong during the latter stages of his time at the club.
Moreover, that same season, figures such as the aforementioned Ayling found their wages to be far lower than the number 14's with the iconic Whites defender earning just £8k per week in contrast.
Further, a much younger and rawer Kalvin Phillips would earn a meagre £4.5k per week at the time with O'Kane going down as a blunder on Leeds' end.
The ex-Leeds man's retirement also meant the Whites couldn't even recuperate a fee out of another club by selling him on, with O'Kane's time at Elland Road now very much forgotten about and resigned to the history books.
1. Modou Barrow
£20k per week
2. Chris Wood
£17k per week
3. Kyle Bartley
£15k per week
4. Alfonso Pedraza
£13.8k per week
5. Eunan O'Kane
£12k per week
On the other hand, Leeds could still make the failure of Roca's transfer from Bayern Munich into a positive deal if they can sell him on to current loan club Real Betis for a bumper amount.
Marc Roca's situation at Leeds
Roca's only full season to date at Elland Road was a disaster to say the least, culminating in the Whites suffering relegation down to the Championship and Roca being offloaded to Spain.
It wasn't as if Leeds put up much of a fight to keep their former £10m buy around past his debut season, with Farke and Co wanting to get rid permanently this coming summer.
Unlike with O'Kane, if reports are correct, Leeds could still win even after the defensive midfielder flopped at Elland Road by managing to sell him on for a fee close to the £10m mark potentially and get some of their wasted money back in the process.
Farke will hope that if he can lead Leeds back to the Premier League at the first time of asking they don't fall victim to any more high-profile duds in the transfer market, operating more smartly going forward after being burnt by O'Kane and Roca amongst many other incomings who failed to adjust.
