The Premier League has reached a halfway point, of sorts, and across the division clubs, players and managers will be plotting how to make improvements when the action resumes once more. Those at Leeds United will be no different and Jesse Marsch has a crucial few weeks ahead of him on the Thorp Arch training field before Man City travel to Elland Road on December 28.
He’ll be keen to see every member of his squad kick on and make improvements, but it’s a clear a number of players have a point to prove over the second half of the season, too. Here, Leeds Live look at just some of those who will be striving to make a statement in the coming months.
Mateusz Klich
Klich has every right to be frustrated with how his season has gone so far after playing nothing more than a bit-part role under Marsch. The head coach hasn’t named him in a Premier League starting XI this campaign and the Polish international has seen his game time limited as a result.
Read more: Leeds United's chaotic Premier League season can be summed up in five defining moments
In fact, he has played just 188 minutes of league action, but he hasn’t had a stint of over 15 minutes on the field since the start of September. This is the reason why Klich isn’t in Qatar with the Poland squad at present and is instead preparing himself to return to training on November 28.
The 32-year-old knows he has his work cut out to persuade Marsch that he deserves a starting spot over Brenden Aaronson, who has excelled since arriving in the summer. However, he can give the head coach some food for thought regarding his substitution options at first before striving to lay down a marker on the field.
Patrick Bamford
It’s not been Bamford’s season so far, that is for certain. The England international has struggled for fitness and his form and confidence has suffered as a result, failing to make the desired impact in his last few outings before picking up a hip issue at the start of the month.
Bamford should be ready to restart training on the 28 th and from there he’ll be looking to not only prove a point to himself regarding his fitness but also regain some self-belief and composure. Rodrigo has established himself as the club’s number one forward at present and his record of nine goals in 13 games is hard to argue with.
Just one goal could be enough to transform Bamford's campaign and after going almost a year without bagging in a competitive, senior match, that’s sure to be on his mind.
Cody Drameh
It’s been a challenging few months for Drameh at Elland Road after dropping into Michael Skubala’s U21s side to pick up the game time he desperately needs at this stage of his career. After a successful spell at Cardiff City on loan, the right-back backed himself to compete for a spot in Jesse Marsch’s thoughts and he was involved until Luke Ayling returned to full fitness.
Drameh was given a start at Brentford and fared well in the game, despite the 5-2 scoreline, but his game time has come exclusively with the U21s since then. As such, whether he stays in West Yorkshire to fight for his spot, or he’s loaned out once more, the youngster will be determined to showcase his best and prove a point to the Whites head coach.
Diego Llorente
The centre-back didn’t enjoy the most convincing start to the season and by the time Leeds lost to Brentford in west London, his confidence was visibly shattered. Llorente was at fault for a couple of the Bees’ goals that day and he came in for plenty of criticism after that game from all angles.
He was consequently dropped for the next game, a month later, against Aston Villa and he has played just one league game since. He’s lost his spot in the Spain squad and, like Rodrigo, he hasn’t travelled to Qatar, which have been a huge disappointment for the defender.
Liam Cooper and Robin Koch have been the preferred centre-back duo at the back, but they have been far from stable in recent weeks themselves. Llorente must make sure he’s on his toes if there is an opening and with his contract expiring at the end of next season, he’ll be pushing to nail down a new deal.
Luke Ayling
Speaking of contracts, Ayling has just a few months remaining on his and that will certainly be on the 31-year-old's mind as he approaches the second half of the campaign. He hasn’t had the amount of minutes he would have liked this season, starting just one Premier League game so far and it is unknown whether he has done enough to persuade the hierarchy that he deserves a renewed deal.
Hammering home his worth and ability will be Ayling’s aim after Christmas and if an offer doesn’t come from United, he’ll be working to earn one elsewhere. Rasmus Kristensen is the club’s first choice right-back at present, but Ayling will be keen to keep the Dane on his toes and take any chance that might fall his way.
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