Leeds United took Spanish gamble and it created an 87-goal hero: View | OneFootball

In the summer of 2008, Leeds United took a punt on an unheard-of Argentinian striker after he'd left Spanish club Merida a couple of months earlier.

The player in question was Luciano Becchio, someone who'd go on to become a hero at Leeds in the four-and-a-half years that followed, and it was a trial with the League One side in the summer of 2008 that sealed the deal.

The Whites weren't in a good place in the summer of 2008, with the club failing to win promotion a couple of months prior, and facing a second consecutive season in the third tier along with some well-documented financial problems.

However, the signing of Becchio would help transform Leeds' fortunes, and he's widely regarded as a modern-day legend at Elland Road thanks to his exploits.

Leeds United's Luciano Becchio gamble paid off

In the summer of 2008, Becchio was handed a trial to impress Leeds manager Gary McAllister, and he had two games to do so in friendlies against Shelbourne and Barnet.

He clearly impressed, because at the end of July he signed a three-year deal with the Whites in July 2008, and the rest is history.

He was a mainstay in the starting team during the 2008/09 season, playing 56 games in all competitions, scoring 19 goals as he led the club to the play-offs, but just like the previous season, they missed out on promotion to the Championship.

17 goals followed during the 2009/10 season, and this was enough to help the club seal a much-needed return to the Championship, and after just two seasons, Becchio had already become a fan favourite at Elland Road.

If there were any questions over whether he could do it in the Championship, they were soon answered as he scored 19 league goals during the 2010/11 season, winning the December 2010 Championship PFA Player of the Month award and helping his side finish a respectable 7th place.

The 2011/12 season was Becchio's last full season at Elland Road, and despite being used more commonly from the bench, he still managed to score 11 league goals, maintaining his reputation as one of the best goalscorers in the EFL.

Becchio began the 2012/13 season on fire, so much so that, after 16 league goals, Premier League side Norwich signed him, bringing down the curtain on a successful four-and-a-half years at Elland Road.

It speaks volumes that the striker joined the club as a trialist in League One, and did so well that he earned a Premier League move in just a few seasons.

Becchio was a real standout player for Leeds in some real dark days, and he managed to score 87 goals in 221 games for the club - a great return.

The rest of Luciano Becchio's time in English football wasn't as successful

After signing for Norwich in January 2013, it's fair to say that Becchio flopped, and he made 16 appearances in total for the Canaries, failing to find the back of the net once.

Despite the Canaries being relegated in 2014, Becchio wasn't given a chance in the Championship, where he had been so successful, and was allowed to join Norwich's second tier rivals Rotherham United on loan.

In just five games for the Millers, he scored twice, but after Norwich's promotion to the Premier League, he was released and returned to Argentina.

He did, however, make one last return to the English game in January 2016, re-signing for Rotherham to work under former Leeds boss Neil Redfearn, but made just two appearances, totaling 67 minutes, and failed to find the back of the net.

Incredibly, after leaving Leeds in early 2013, Becchio would make just 23 further appearances in English football, scoring twice, not what Norwich had it mind when they signed him.

Despite failing elsewhere, Becchio is not only remembered as a modern-day Leeds legend, but a modern-day EFL legend too, and the Elland Road faithful will be thankful they decided to take a gamble on him in the summer of 2008.