Decide on the left-back stopgap
One of the main narratives of Leeds United’s summer still requires a happy ending. With Junior Firpo recovering from injury for a few more weeks and Leif Davis sold, Jesse Marsch needs to decide on which direction he takes.
In Australia, the head coach experimented with Jack Harrison, Pascal Struijk, Leo Hjelde and Davis across the three friendlies. None of that quartet caught the eye for the right reasons while they were Down Under in that role.
Harrison is surely required to play in the final third, especially with Daniel James’s suspension and Luis Sinisterra’s injury. That leaves Struijk or Hjelde as the most realistic possibilities for Marsch.
Through this week, Cagliari and into next week, Marsch needs to drill down into who he plays there and how he gets them purring in this system.
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Attacking without James and Sinisterra
If Sinisterra does not play in the Cagliari friendly then there should be an update from Marsch on the Colombian’s condition after the game at the latest. If we assume he does not recover from his hamstring issue, Marsch needs to reconsider his attacking plan.
James’s suspension will deprive the head coach of another option and pose questions for how Leeds attack without two of their senior wingers. Rodrigo came into the centre behind Patrick Bamford in Perth and Brenden Aaronson was pushed wider.
Marsch needs to refine how that quartet would work together or even consider a more like-for-like switch in Crysencio Summerville.
Bed in the central midfielders
Adam Forshaw’s knee-tweak has opened the door for Marc Roca and Tyler Adams to nail down their partnership as United’s new, first-choice double pivot. Time will tell whether Forshaw can squeeze his way in, but risks should not be taken with him in training after that Perth scare.
If the former Middlesbrough man is missing vital time on the training field, Marsch and his staff just focus their energies on the Roca-Adams axis which is barely three-weeks-old. That pairing is going to be critical in solving another of the issues Marsch needs to address.
Those opposition counters
The single biggest worry from the Australia games prove to be the ease and effectiveness of opposition counter-attacks. Time and time again, Brisbane Roar, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace would beat United’s initial counter-press before wreaking havoc.
The Whites’ defenders were all too frequently found outnumbered and overloaded running towards their own goal. Supporters will be pleased to have an aggressive, intense, pressing team, but not at the expense of defensive solidity.
Establish Cooper’s return plan
Liam Cooper has been dealing with an Achilles niggle since the start of pre-season and has played no part in any of the friendlies as yet. Even if the captain is fit enough to play on Sunday, a maximum of 45 minutes to an hour on the field is not going to make up for the shortfall in sharpness he needs.
Talking with Cooper and agreeing on how he plots his way back to Premier League action is an important step across these next 10 days. That plan will also inform Marsch’s strategy for Sunday with the centre-back pairing he ultimately uses on the opening day a week on Saturday.
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