Clarity in his head and an unprecedented training level at Leeds United under Jesse Marsch were capped off for Cody Drameh with half an hour in Spain last night. The 21-year-old replaced Liam Cooper midway through the second half in Elche and performed solidly, as he had done in training all week.
With the January transfer window set to open in a little over three weeks, Drameh again stands out as one of the players seemingly furthest from senior contention. After declining offers to move in the summer and staying to fight with Luke Ayling and Rasmus Kristensen, Drameh has not yet been able to overthrow either at right-back.
While it may have been a brave, admirable choice to fight for his place at Elland Road, it’s only cast a stronger spotlight on what he may now do 12 months after that well-publicised loan to Cardiff City. There is sure to be interest in his services once more, especially with the knowledge his Leeds contract expires in 18 months.
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Drameh has caught the eye in training throughout the past five days at the Oliva Nova resort and Marsch could only admit the past fortnight has been the defender’s best during his tenure.
“He has Luke ahead of him right now competing for that position, Rasmus as well,” he said. “Cody, the best two weeks he's ever had since I've been here have been the last two weeks.
“Mentally, he's got pretty clear in his head and he's playing really well. I'm really happy for him.
“We even considered starting today because we think he's doing so well, so that's great to see.”
Starts are more of what Drameh wants if he’s to stay at Elland Road, but it remains a dilemma for Marsch when he has such experienced competition ahead of the youngster in that position. Kristensen is expected back in training from Monday after his World Cup break too.
If he wants a future at Leeds, all Drameh can do for now is continue in this vein of training form and hope he gets the chances he wants against Real Sociedad and Monaco.
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