Daniel Farke and Leeds United are beyond the midway point in their international break though as their travellers return and Millwall gets closer the manager’s in-tray remains stacked
Club football returns on Sunday for Leeds United with a trip to the capital and Millwall at The Den. Ten days have passed since the frustrating Championship draw with Sheffield Wednesday and the work has not stopped in that time for Daniel Farke, despite the break in the match schedule.
However, the manager has not had every spoke of his squad wheel to work with since that stalemate with the Owls at Elland Road. Over the coming days, Farke will find his arsenal replenished as players return from international duty and, hopefully, injuries.
Here, we pick through the items that have been in the German’s in-tray over the past week as well as in the days ahead before venturing south for one of the most hostile visits of the campaign.
Despite United’s relegation, Farke has still been deprived of 10 players to international duty over the course of this fortnight. Ethan Ampadu and Joe Rodon (Wales), Wilfried Gnonto (Italy), Glen Kamara (Finland), Ilia Gruev (Bulgaria), Diogo Monteiro (Portugal under-19s), Charlie Cresswell (England under-21s), Dani van den Heuvel (Netherlands under-21s), Leo Hjelde (Norway under-21s) and Darko Gyabi (England under-20s) have all either been away or remain away.
Farke will need to catch up with them upon their return and suss out how they are all feeling after travelling thousands of miles between them. Ampadu, Rodon, Gnonto, Kamara and Gruev are especially important condition checks for Farke to make.
The relentless nature of a summer dominated by change at all levels of the club from the ownership down ensured this fortnight was everyone’s first opportunity to catch their breath. For Farke especially, his feet have barely touched the floor since he signed his contract on July 4.
This fortnight away from the spotlight was the first opportunity to really look at his squad with confidence. The closure of the transfer window allows everyone to rest and reset their expectations on what is ahead of the Whites, until January at the very least.
Djed Spence and Jaidon Anthony have had a crucial opportunity to get among their team-mates without any distractions, though Gruev and Kamara, with their international exertions behind them, will finally get their chance to settle down in the days ahead of Millwall.
Injury check-in
From as early as late July, Farke had consigned several of his injury issues to the other side of the first international break and here we are. Liam Cooper and Stuart Dallas are unlikely to be available before the end of September, but Junior Firpo, Patrick Bamford, Daniel James and Sam Byram are players he may hope to count on in the very near future.
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