Who is Jay-Roy Grot and who is he to Leeds United?

Leeds United fans were likely blindsided by the news that Chris Wood had decided to cash in his goodwill in Yorkshire and make the switch to Premier League side Burnley. And of course, after being upset, angry, and depressed, Leeds fans will be into bargaining phase of grief, wondering if Leeds is better off without Wood, and even telling themselves that the club doesn’t need a new striker.

And then the acceptance hits and fans realize that the club is going to need a new starting striker. Reckless speculation in the national press aside, after the summer transfer window that the club has had this off-season, it is reasonable to assume that the club would be looking all over Europe, and not just to players in the Championship or in England to compete for the starting striker position at Leeds.

So while the interest in Rudy Gestede makes sense, as Leeds Director of Football Victor Orta had already purchased him once for Middlesbrough, but as usual, Leeds fans will be forced to consult Google and their favorite player information sites to glean some understanding of just who Leeds have been linked with.

In this case, the young striker is 19 year old Jay-Ray Grot, a Netherlands U19 International who currently plays at Dutch club NEC Nijmegen. He scored seven goals in 28 total appearances for NEC, including one in the team’s unsuccessful playoff bid to stay in the Eredivisie. Grot is around 6’4” tall, and as they say in the NBA, you can’t coach height.

Whether this is another player for the future or one for the first team remains to be seen. The club has been snatching up young talent this summer, and has already signed a Dutch ex-Juventus defender/ midfielder Ousasim Bouy who plied his trade at PEC Zwolle after coming through the youth ranks at Ajax. Either way, Grot looks to be another exciting talent set to join up with the Whites.