Leeds United are still haunted by January decision that involved Norwich City | OneFootball

Leeds United made a swap deal with Norwich City in 2013, with Steve Morison arriving at the club, but it hugely backfired.

Leeds United fans will not wish to look back on the early to mid-2010s given their performances in the Championship.

The Whites endured a period of suffering over a decade ago, which even saw them drop into League One at one stage, before returning to the Championship, only to record consistent mid-table finishes.

One shining light in those tough times was Argentine forward, Luciano Becchio, who was their top scorer for two seasons in the Championship, after helping the club to achieve automatic promotion from League One.

The 2012/13 season saw Neil Warnock take charge of a Leeds side that were hugely struggling for consistency in the Championship. A number of signings were made, but the Whites finished 13th in the table. But in the January transfer window, they suffered a huge blow as their star man, Becchio, departed for the Premier League.

Becchio moved to Norwich City, who were in the top flight at the time, while Steve Morison and £200k went the other way from Carrow Road to Elland Road on a swap deal.

Morison had a history of scoring regular goals, but the swap deal did not go as planned for Leeds.

Luciano Becchio's goals for Leeds were irreplaceable

The Argentine striker arrived at Elland Road during their League One days as a completely unknown forward in the English game, but it did not take him long to become a popular figure at Leeds United.

Over the course of two seasons in the third tier, he scored 30 league goals, which ultimately led to Leeds' promotion to the Championship. There, Becchio would go on to spend two-and-a-half years in the Championship with the Whites and become the key man after Jermaine Beckford's exit, and he contributed to 61 goals in 108 games before earning his move to the Premier League.

In each of Becchio's five seasons with Leeds, he hit double figures in league goals, which was an incredible achievement, but it made him very difficult to replace - at the point he left, he had scored 19 times in 31 games across all competitions.

Becchio's departure led to the arrival of experienced forward, Morison, on a swap deal from the Premier League. The move did not benefit Leeds in any way.

Steve Morison's spell at Leeds was uninspiring

Before signing for Leeds, Steve Morison's only season in the Championship saw him contribute to 23 goals in 40 appearances for Millwall, so there would have been some hope that he can perform for the inconsistent Leeds.

He had also gained valuable Premier League experience, having scored nine top flight goals in the 2011/12 campaign. However, these stats became rather pointless during his time at Leeds.

In the second half of the 2012/13 campaign, he only scored three goals before being deemed surplus to requirements in the summer and was loaned out to former club, Millwall.

After his return to Elland Road for the 2014/15 campaign, he became a regular starter under manager Neil Redfearn, but only managed two league goals all season as the club finished 15th in the Championship.

The stats don't lie and neither does the way supporters look back at that swap deal involving Becchio and Morison. It is very clear that the move led to absolutely no progression for Leeds. It's quite simple, too, as the latter failed to replace the goals of the former.

Becchio was a hugely popular figure at Elland Road, but his departure is a tough one to look back on, not least because Becchio never reached those Leeds heights again, probably to the frustration of Norwich.