Good Morning. It's Tuesday 29th September, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road…
Gruev back in action for Bulgaria
Ilia Gruev has returned from his knee injury and started for Bulgaria in their Nations League defeat to Luxembourg on Saturday with their enxt game against Estonia tonight, which is welcome news after a frustrating spell out. It also raises the question of where does he fit at Leeds this season? Daniel Farke has always spoken well of him, and it is clear the manager rates him as more than just a squad filler. TeamTalk reports that the club have put any decision on his future on hold while Gruev sets out to return to action for Leeds United.What Gruev offers is different from what we have ahead of him. He is a natural holding midfielder who sits, reads the game, wins the ball and keeps things simple. Tanaka's strengths are energy, running off the ball and arriving late in the box. That gives Farke a more conservative option when we need to protect a lead or steady a game, and a different profile against sides who like to press us through the middle.
The trouble is that Tanaka has been growing into the Premier League, and every game he plays well makes him harder to shift. With Ampadu and Stach some of the first names on the team sheet, minutes are not easy to come by. So when does Gruev get his chance? His contract situation means he’ll want a fairly swift answer. His deal runs out on 30 June 2027, which means that from January he is free to agree a pre-contract with other clubs. We either decide he is part of our plans and offer a longer deal, or we risk losing him for nothing.
So do we tie him down now, or is January the time to cash in while we still can?
Five games in, how is the squad shaping up?
Five games into the season, the shape of the squad is starting to show. The 4-1 win over Newcastle took us to third and showed what we can do when everything clicks into place. The Crystal Palace draw was a reminder of how quickly that edge can go, and how much we rely on the right players being fit and available.Injuries change things fast. The lengthy absence for Joe Rodon has already shown it. When a centre-back is out for a long spell, the whole back line has to be reshuffled, cover gets stretched, and one more knock leaves us in real trouble. The same applies anywhere on the pitch, and the reports of hamstring concerns for Ballard and Brobbey from the international break are another warning of how quickly a comfortable squad can start to look short.
That is why January should not be a wish list. It is easy to say we want a striker, a winger and a centre-half, but harder to say which gap would actually cost us points. The better question is where we would struggle most if two or three players were out at the same time. If we could only sign one player in January, which position would it be, and why?
Derby day delight for the Women
Leeds United Women's blistering start to 2026/27 has carried into the FA WNL Cup. They cruised past West Yorkshire rivals Bradford City Women 4-1, making it three wins from three and topping Group T. That sends them into the knockout rounds and with five wins in five in the league as well, it means a perfect start to the season.A cup run gives the team something a league campaign can struggle to provide. It means a run of bigger occasions, a reason for local and national coverage, and the chance for people who have never been to a Women's game to see what they have been missing. A derby win over a neighbour is also exactly the kind of story that gets talked about beyond our own supporters.
For a side still building its following, that momentum could matter a great deal. But attention only helps if it turns into people turning up. So what would get more of us to a Women's game this season? Is it ticket prices, kick-off times, where the games are played, or simply knowing when they are on?
