Leeds United’s strength in depth and competition for places has left some very good footballers missing out on regular game time with January a tantalising opportunity for better chances elsewhere.
Squad depth has been bolstered at Leeds United since Daniel Farke arrived in the summer and with injuries coming under greater control as the season has progressed, competition for minutes has been immense. Since the dark night of two goalkeepers on a seven-man bench, Farke has watched his reserve list bulge to the point where past starters are no longer making his squad.
Complacency will not be allowed to creep into Farke or Rob Price’s plans when it comes to injuries and squad planning over the next seven months. The manager will ensure he gives himself enough options to cope with suspensions and injuries as they arise, but there is a healthy core of players who may already have concerns about their playing time this term.
January offers the next opportunity for players to move in and out of Elland Road. Injuries and suspensions at the time will dictate a lot, but there are five or six players, as it stands, who may have eyes on moves when the window opens.
Kristoffer Klaesson
The 22-year-old goalkeeper has not played for the first team since his debut in March 2022 at Molineux. It’s fair to say the pathway the Norwegian may have envisioned to regular starts has not materialised, though his sporadic under-21 outings have rarely inspired huge confidence.
Mateo Joseph or Joe Gelhardt
It’s difficult to imagine both being allowed a chance to find more minutes in January, but one of them certainly has a case for pursuing fresh opportunities on loan. Joel Piroe, Patrick Bamford and Georginio Rutter are all strikers Farke trusts to lead the line, so it seems a long shot for either Joseph or Gelhardt to feature in any meaningful way.
Lewis Bate
The 20-year-old’s contract expires next summer and he has never really had a concerted chance to show why he’s worth a new deal. His form with Oxford United last season began to impress, but the midfielder needed to be dominating games in League One to keep his Leeds chances alive.
It was a surprise Bate did not move in the summer and there is no chance he will be happy plugging away with the under-21s until May. A loan or permanent exit has to be highly likely in the New Year.
Darko Gyabi
The former Manchester City midfielder has shown more frequent flashes of promise than Bate and there may be a little more resistance to losing him permanently in January. Gyabi really has run games at under-21 level to the extent fans have called for more senior opportunities.Leo Hjelde
After starting the first two games of the season, Hjelde can barely make Farke’s matchday squad now. The 20-year-old has not been involved on a matchday since making the bench on September 2 against Sheffield Wednesday.
Injury to Junior Firpo, the exit of Max Wober and Pascal Struijk’s use in the middle opened the early door for Hjelde at left-back. Unfortunately, the Norwegian struggled badly, not just in the league, but against lower-league opponents Shrewsbury and Salford City too.
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