Leeds United news as Whites midfielder named as ideal…

Leeds United news as Whites midfielder named as ideal replacement for World Cup star

Here are the latest Leeds United evening headlines on Thursday, 29 December 2022.

Adams claim

Leeds United midfielder Tyler Adams has been backed to succeed Sofyan Amrabat at Fiorentina in the event of his departure by Andrea Rocchigiani. Amrabat shone for Morocco in the World Cup as he helped his country become the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the competition.

As a result of his displays, Amrabat has been linked with a host of big clubs including Liverpool and Tottenham. And former Fiorentina man Rocchigiani believes the Italian side should take the money for Amrabat next month and invest 'a lot of money' in signing Adams as his replacement.

He told Firenze Viola: “I would take a midfielder. If they gave me €40m for Amrabat, I would sell him immediately, even in January. Because in June, I don’t know if that figure would arrive again. I’d put a lot of money on Adams (Leeds midfielder), he reminds me of Torreira.

“He’s not as strong as him, but he’s an excellent midfielder who’s still quite young. He presses a lot and he impressed me at the World Cup.”

Pep on Leeds

Pep Guardiola was pleased with his sides' performance as they ran out 3-1 winners at Elland Road. The Manchester City boss was more than satisfied with the win over Leeds United - who he heaped praise on for being the most intense team in the Premier League.

Jesse Marsch's side turned in a resolute display inside the opening 45 minutes, only for Rodri to open the scoring for the visitors right on the brink of half-time. Erling Haaland added a brace in the second-half to continue his incredible start to life in the Premier League.

In truth, Man City could have been out of sight, with their finishing wasteful. Nonetheless, there was no shame in defeat for Leeds United, with Guardiola claiming his side carried out the perfect plan.

Guardiola said: "More than satisfied. We did really well in all aspects against the most intense Premier League team. We were able to make our ball quicker. To arrive in our positions, we were patient enough."

Gnonto impresses

The frustration was etched across Jesse Marsch’s face as he sat down to speak to the press. The Leeds United head coach had hoped for more on the club’s return to Premier League action, but ultimately his side were outclassed by reigning champions Manchester City.

He’ll have felt the goals were avoidable and Leeds didn’t help themselves at times against a team that only needs half a chance to punish opposition and that’s exactly what they did as Rodri and Erling Haaland found the back of the net to seal a 3-1 win. Leeds did make a contest of it, though, and Marsch was well within his rights to point to the positives after the game as he fielded questions about his side’s performance.

The head coach seemed reluctant to single out individuals but he spoke highly of Illan Meslier when asked about him, he also mentioned the impact Mateusz Klich and Joe Gelhardt had when they stepped off the bench. However, while he didn’t mention him, Wilfried Gnonto’s performance on the left was surely one of the most pleasing aspects of the game for Marsch.