Daniel Farke spoke to the press following on from Leeds’ hard fought draw at Hill Dickinson against Everton and ahead of Leeds’ next venture at Elland Road against high flying Arsenal.
Farke began his conference by discussing the fresh injuries that had occurred within the camp, with Nmecha being out with hamstring concerns that arose in the warm-up ahead of Monday’s game, however, the good news appears to be that Farke believes he will only miss one game. Despite missing the previous fixture, it was hinted towards the fact that Gabriel Gudmondsson could be involved in Saturday;s action, should his fitness improve in time. Farke also made sure to reference the fact that injuries will not result in panic buying before the transfer window slams shut on Monday night.
When referring to transfers, Farke took a stance that many within the West Yorkshire club’s fanbase may have become accustomed to, as he claimed that: “We can allow ourselves to be picky. We won’t extend the size of the group because it’s a proper size with good options. The club knows what I think we need to do.”
He then went on to praise being done within the academy set-up in recent weeks, whether that be by coaches or development staff. He also name dropped a few of the youngsters, with Sam Chambers, Jayden Lienou, Rhys Chadwick and Alfie Cresswell all now being at the point where they are able to train regularly with the first-team squad. It was also referenced that the club have turned down loan interest for the latter (Cresswell).
The presser ended on a positive note, with Farke giving a shock to a few Leeds fans with the suggestion that long-term absentee Dan James may be back available for selection for Saturday’s fixture, as after an extended injury period, James is finally back in team training at Thorp Arch.
Farke’s parting words to the members of the press were that: “no members of the first-team squad have asked to leave”.
There is worry within the fanbase that maybe signings will be needed in the forwards positions, especially with the injury obtained by Lukas Nmecha, however, attitude in basecamp suggests that nobody is overly concerned at this stage, and those in charge of the club are hugely confident in the teams abilities to secure survival this season.