Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke was left incredibly frustrated by his side's lack of ruthlessness in the final third in their defeat to Burnley on Saturday.

After the match, the German head coach noted that his team had more "possession, shots, big chances, xG" than the Clarets in their Premier League clash, but they came away from Turf Moor with no points to show for their efforts.

The statistics in the table above show that Farke was right about the level of chances that his team created throughout the match, but they failed to score a single goal from 2.63 xG and four 'big chances'.

Brenden Aaronson, arguably, missed the biggest chance of the match when he raced through on goal to fire his shot almost straight at Martin Dubravka, who produced the save.

Jayden Bogle, Jack Harrison, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin also missed opportunities to find the back of the net, as the home side scored two goals from four shots in the entire game.

It is hard not to feel a little bit sorry for Farke from an offensive perspective, as the players the board have left him with do not look clinical enough for this level.

Why Farke is not to blame for Leeds United's attacking problems

It can be easy to use outcome bias to pin all the blame on the manager when a team loses a game. Sometimes the manager is to blame because the coaching or the tactics lead to a poor performance that gives the players little chance of picking up a result.

However, Farke put out a team with a structure and a style that created three times as many 'big chances' as the opposition, and roughly five times as much xG, but it was the players at his disposal that let him down.

Football Insider reported last month that the head coach wanted two more attacking signings in the summer, Harry Wilson and Manor Solomon, but the club did not land either of them.

As you can see in the table above, Leeds rank within the top eight teams in the league for 'big chances' created, but they also rank fourth for misses.

They have missed a staggering 14 of the 17 'big chances' that they have created, which is why Farke should not be blamed for the lack of potency in the final third, because his system has been one of the most effective in the league.

Calvert-Lewin, who has scored one Premier League goal, is one of the players who has let him down. The former England international has missed the most 'big chances' in the team (five), per Sofascore, and ranks third in the division for 'big chances' missed.

The summer signing from Everton has not stepped up and delivered enough quality in front of goal, which has left Farke in a difficult position without the signings that he wanted the club to make in the forward areas.

The former Norwich and Borussia Monchengladbach head coach has been let down by the options he has in the first-team, which means that he may have to look to the academy.

Leeds United are brewing a potential upgrade on Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the form of 17-year-old centre-forward Harry Gray, who has excelled at youth level.

Why Harry Gray may be an upgrade on Dominic Calvert-Lewin

The teenage striker is currently out with a hip injury and is expected to be back in training next week, and he should be given a chance to impress once he is back up to speed.

There is no guarantee that Gray will be able to handle the step up to the Premier League as a 17-year-old striker, which is why it is harsh to judge Farke if he decides against such a risk, but his form at youth level suggests that he has the potential to be a breakout star.

The English striker scored four goals in four Premier League 2 matches before picking up a hip injury, per Transfermarkt, whilst he also notched a hat-trick against Scunthorpe in the National League Cup.

Gray, who was described as "seriously talented" by analyst Ben Mattinson, also scored eight goals in 11 matches for the U18s in the 2024/25 campaign, per Transfermarkt.

This means that the teenage marksman, who made his first-team debut against Stoke in the Championship last term, has delivered goals on a consistent basis at U18 and U21 level over the past 14 months or so.

As you can see in the table above, Calvert-Lewin's form for Everton in the four seasons before his move to Elland Road does not suggest that he is likely to turn his current form around in front of goal.

He has consistently underperformed as a finisher in the Premier League, which is why it is not a surprise that he has missed five 'big chances' and only scored one goal for Leeds so far.

Gray, meanwhile, has been a lethal goalscorer who has found the back of the net week-in-week-out at two different age groups at academy level in the last two seasons for the Whites.

His impressive goalscoring rate for the U18s and U21s suggests that the club are brewing an upgrade on Calvert-Lewin, who has struggled to score goals on a consistent basis for most of his career, but it remains to be seen if he can make the step up in the short-term.

The club's current struggles in front of goal in the Premier League mean that Farke may have to fast-track his development and throw him in at the deep end once he is back from injury.