Daniel Farke got his first glimpse of his Leeds United squad in action on Wednesday as he welcomed his players back onto the Thorp Arch turf. The German manager will have done his homework and he’ll know plenty about the team he has inherited as he prepares for the new season.
He’ll have come across a number of Leeds’ more established and older first-team players before having competed against them for so long while in charge at Norwich City. But, Farke will have no doubt been keeping a keen eye on a number of the players he won’t have seen in person before and that includes host of young players.
Those youngsters will be determined to catch the German’s eye this summer as they look to make the step up and establish themselves within the first-team picture at Elland Road. A handful of them have already seen a degree of first-team action in the past, but they’ll rightly see relegation and the changes expected within the Leeds squad as an opportunity.
Mateo Joseph, for example, is one man hoping to secure a permanent spot within the senior set up. He made three Premier League appearances last time out but having scored 16 goals in Premier League 2 Division 2 last season, he’ll have high hopes of getting more crucial experience under his belt by competing with the likes of Joe Gelhardt for a spot in the side.
Read more: Weston McKennie nearing Juventus exit after failed Leeds United switch
The England U20 international will likely get the chance to impress against Manchester United in Oslo next week and he’ll hope to secure more opportunities down the line, with first-team football being what he needs to continue his progression.
Darko Gyabi and Sonny Perkins are very much in the same boat. Gyabi made three appearances in all competitions last season in the first-team, while Perkins announced himself to Leeds fans by scoring the equaliser in the FA Cup third-round tie at Cardiff City back in January. Both need senior minutes and both know impressing the new manager over the next month or so might just be enough to secure the minutes they need to kick on.
Lewis Bate is a familiar figure that has returned to the fold following his loan spell with Oxford United last season. The former Chelsea man made four appearances for the Whites during the 2021-22 campaign before playing regularly in League One last season while away from Elland Road.
The 20-year-old will have no intention of spending this season with Leeds’ U21s and with United being short of midfield option at present, opportunities are there to grab. A few other young starlets have been spotted in first-team training, with Archie Gray perhaps being the most recognisable.
He’s only 17, but he’s been on the fringes of the first-team squad for some time now and he’ll have high hopes of taking the next step to make his debut this season under Farke. Gray was named on Premier League benches by Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce and Farke will no doubt be watching the midfielder carefully.
Kris Moore, Jeremiah Mullen and Diogo Monteiro will all key members of the club’s U21s side last season and they have all been seen in senior training. The defensive trio might well be involved against the Red Devils next week and in such an instance, they’ll all be keen to stake a claim and make their cases for senior minutes this time around, despite the competition they face for places.
Farke has built a reputation for giving youngsters a chance and at Norwich, he showed a willingness to throw youngsters into the action if he felt they were ready. The likes of James Maddison, Jamal Lewis, Todd Cantwell, Max Aarons, Ben Godfrey and Adam Idah will all credit Farke for playing key roles in their development and there’ll be a group of youngsters at Leeds hoping for the same sort of treatment.
