Leeds United got their preparations for the new Championship season underway on Monday as they returned to West Yorkshire for day one of pre-season. Players were asked to report to Leeds Beckett University in the morning for a series of health examinations before they moved out onto the grass for running drills and more testing.
The Whites have less than five weeks to go until the start of the new Championship campaign and they’ll be stepping up their preparations throughout the week as their first pre-season friendly against Manchester United moves closer. Here’s what we learned from day one.
Cooper returns early
Liam Cooper wasn’t due to return to training until next Monday following his exploits with Scotland last month, picking up his 16th cap as he featured in the win over Norway. However, as club captain he returned to training a week earlier than expected to welcome his teammates back and go through the rigorous testing with them.
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Cooper was one of the first players to take to social media after Leeds’ relegation in May and it seems he’s champing at the bit to get back into the action and lead the club back to the top flight. It wasn’t clear if any other players had returned early, but July 10 is the date set for the likes of Rodrigo, Dan James and Rasmus Kristensen, who were in international action last month.
Roca and Firpo involved
Reports emerged on Monday that Diego Llorente and Robin Koch had not returned to West Yorkshire for day one of pre-season. The pair are on the verge of sealing moves away from Leeds and as a result, they were not present to go through the testing with the rest of their Whites teammates.
Marc Roca and Junior Firpo were, though. Like Llorente and Koch, the pair have been heavily linked away and moves look to be on the cards for both men. If reports are to be believed, it would seem as though Roca is destined for a switch to Real Betis, while Firpo has also been linked to clubs in Spain with Fabrizio Romano reporting earlier in the summer that he was keen on a move away.
Nevertheless, they were both present on day one with Roca being pictured talking to Darko Gyabi and Georginio Rutter.
Dallas pictured
Stuart Dallas missed the entirety of last season due to the fractured femur he suffered while playing against Manchester City in April 2022. The Northern Irishman had hoped to play some part in Leeds’ campaign but he failed to recover in time to get on the field.
His current status is not known at this stage of pre-season, but he was pictured arriving with his trainers in hand, suggesting he had some work to do on day one whilst also being tested. Whether he’ll be fit enough to play come the start of the Championship season is hard to say, but fans will be hoping to see him involved once more before too long.
Gelhardt means business
Joe Gelhardt’s Instagram page would suggest he has been hard at work over the summer after what was a difficult season for him at Elland Road. The striker had hoped to kick on and further establish himself in White, but he was forced to leave the club on loan in order to get the required game time.
As such, he seems to have been working with a trainer over the summer and he looks to have returned to West Yorkshire in fine condition, looking trim and fit. He’ll have high hopes of taking his career to the next level with the Whites this season.
U21s stepping up
As expected, a number of last season’s U21s stars were involved on day one of pre-season. Gyabi, Mateo Joseph and Archie Gray were pictured and the trio will have high hopes of establishing themselves within the senior ranks this time around.
All three suffered international disappointment in May, with Gyabi and Joseph falling short with England at the U20s World Cup, while Gray was with England U17s at the Euros.
