Good Morning. It's Tuesday 12th March, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Leeds hold massive bargaining chip in pursuit of top left back
Media reports suggest that Luca Netz is a top target for Daniel Farke this Summer, but only if Leeds achieve promotion! The attacking left back applies his trade with Borussia Monchengladbach. He is regarded as one of the finest young defensive talents in the Bundesliga and he could prove to be a quality long-term prospect for the Whites, but his talents have not gone unnoticed.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester Utd have all sent scouts to Borussia Park this season to watch the exciting 20yo in action, but when it comes time to negotiate, Leeds may have the upper hand! Borussia Monchengladbach have Max Wober on loan, and won't want to lose him. The 26yo has made a massive impact for Gerry Seoane's side this season. He currently sit's fourth in their 'Whoscored' ratings with a respectable 6.90.
Come the Summer, Wober will still have three years left on his Leeds contract, and should they decide to sell him, will surely be able to command a fee greater than the £10m they splashed out fourteen months ago.
Was Piroe a bad buy
When the 49ers splashed out £12m on Joel Piroe last Summer, many assumed the Dutchman would be the man to spearhead Leeds back to the top flight. Whilst his contributions haven't gone unnoticed, he has slipped down the pecking order, during the second half of the campaign. Eleven goals and two assists from twenty-five starts would get him into most Championship starting line ups, yet his lack of pace whilst leading the line gave Farke cause for concern. He tinkered with his forward line, swapping Rutter and Piroe around, but to no avail.
Was Piroe a bad buy? No. Strikers carry a premium, and at 24, I'd be amazed if Leeds don't make a profit from him, if indeed, they decide to sell him this Summer.
Is Farke underrated?
Phil Hay has penned an interesting article, asking the question whether Daniel Farke is underrated?
Whilst Hay acknowledges that Farke had a pretty good squad to begin with, and was given the financial back-up that most Championship Managers could only dream of, what he is achieving this season is pretty special. You only need to go back to the Ridsdale era to realise that throwing money at a situation won't solve it. Every new face that arrived at Elland Road last Summer (apart from Darlow) has played their part this season, which on the balance of probability, and taking into account how players were queuing for the exit door is extraordinary!
The best way to frame his [Farke] impact is to say that in years and years of covering this club, of seeing coaches sink in the wet sand of irrational expectation, unhinged ownership, inadequate resources or whatever else was sent to drown them, it is difficult to think of one who has made the Leeds job look so smooth. It took time for him to get to this position, via bumps in August and either side of Christmas, but for weeks now he has been fairly free to stand on the touchline, hands in pockets, chin tucked into the neck of his black coat as the players do what he asks them to do."
Plainly, none of what is happening at Elland Road is wildly against the odds, even if last summer was more fraught than history is likely to record. Leeds found a way to give Farke the tools he needed, beyond the levels of the average Championship side, and he would have questions to answer if the play-offs were currently getting away from him.
But there is a difference between being given the tools and managing them properly. There is a difference between being given the tools and motivating them properly, coaxing players who are out of form back into it and keeping the show on the road. The perception at Leeds, going back years, is that they never do the second half of a season as well as the first. Since the turn of the year, they lead the form table by seven points.
