Red-hot Leeds United star nominated for Championship award after decisive 7-goal month
Leeds United’s on loan winger enjoyed an incredible month as Championship promotion was confirmed.
Manor Solomon has been nominated for the PFA Championship Fans' Player of the Month award after an incredible April saw him guide Leeds United back to the Premier League.
The on-loan Tottenham Hotspur winger will go up against five Championship rivals for the April award, with Burnley captain Josh Brownhill a close competitor for the accolade. Blackburn Rovers duo Todd Cantwell and Tyrhys Dolan have also been nominated, as have Swansea City’s Harry Darling and Mihailo Ivanovic of Millwall. Voting is now open and fans can pick their winner on the PFA website.
Solomon played a major role through April as Leeds took 16 points from 18 on offer to confirm their automatic promotion from the Championship, following a 1-1 draw at Luton town up with five straight wins. The on-loan Tottenham Hotspur winger wasn’t involved in Daniel James’ effort at Kenilworth Road but went on to register seven direct goal contributions across the month, many of them decisive.
Leeds produced a trio of massive wins over Middlesbrough, Preston North End and Oxford United to pull clear of promotion rivals Sheffield United, with Solomon directly involved in all four goals through those three fixtures. The 25-year-old set James up for the winner at Boro before producing a wonderful early goal against at Preston, an effort he followed up with another inch-perfect assist for Jayden Bogle’s eventual decider.
Manor Solomon’s red-hot April handed Leeds United automatic promotion
Daniel Farke’s side were within touching distance of automatic promotion when they went to Oxford and Bogle turned provider at the Kassam Stadium, with his cross turned in by the red-hot Solomon. That run of two goals and two assists in three games earned Leeds a massive nine points.
Solomon then notched two more assists as Leeds thumped Stoke City 6-0 on Easter Monday, a result which would eventually prove enough to secure their Premier League return. The Israeli also set up Ao Tanaka last Monday as Bristol City were beaten 4-0 at Elland Road.
Leeds were a few days into May when they went to Plymouth Argyle but it was only right Solomon’s influence continued, with the winger scoring an added-time winner to ensure the Championship title went to his temporary club. And the final-day match-winner was right at the heart of celebrations on Monday as more than 150,000 fans flocked to be part of an open-top bus parade.
“It's unbelievable. No words,” Solomon told LUTV during the parade. “To see them celebrating like this, you don't know how many there are here, maybe 500,000, it's incredible. I was expecting to see a lot of people but not this much. It's crazy.
“This season, what we’ve all done, is brilliant. It's been amazing, now we just have to celebrate. I've made a few memories at Leeds United that will always remain in my heart. I can't explain what I feel for these fans, they deserve to be happy.”
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