Leeds United have less than 48 hours to address key Newcastle issue as Daniel Farke decision vindicated — YEP 31/8/25

By Kyle Newbould

Leeds United and Newcastle shared the spoils at Elland Road and the YEP has your key talking points.

Leeds United earned another important home point with Saturday’s hard-fought 0-0 draw against Newcastle on Saturday.

Daniel Farke’s side were full of energy and aggression in the first-half, albeit lacking final third quality in a manner that screams late-summer transfer business. Lukas Nmecha and Willy Gnonto looked particularly sharp but no one in white was able to turn that momentum into a shot on target inside the first 45 minutes.

A cagey second-half saw Leeds continue to keep their visitors at bay going forward but struggle to find that killer pass on the counter-attack, even with a raft of forward-thinking substitutions. After a difficult week and consecutive defeats, however, few would turn their nose up at the outcome and the YEP has detailed the key takeaways from that draw below.

Lukas Nmecha’s physical factor

The major talking point around one hour before kick-off was the inclusion of Lukas Nmecha in the starting line-up, with the free agent summer arrival replacing Joel Piroe at No.9. Piroe struggled to impose himself during last weekend’s 5-0 thumping at Arsenal and would have faced a similar level of physicality on Saturday evening.

Speaking ahead of kick-off yesterday, Farke said of Nmecha: “We got the feeling his physicality against physical defenders for Newcastle is a good choice.” And that showed. The 6ft 1ins frontman was a real problem for a battle-hardened Newcastle back-three, regularly bumping and nudging his opponents as long balls were pinged his way.

While successful hold-up play was aplenty, even the less successful attempts bore fruit for Leeds with Nmecha at the very least stopping defenders from having an open run at a clearance. And as a result, energetic midfielders like Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach were able to anticipate second balls and kickstart attacks from as high up as the halfway line.

Nmecha’s goal threat was minimal on Saturday, which for a striker is not ideal. But modern No.9s are judged on so much more than goals and the 26-year-old helped Leeds get up the pitch so often, which was a real plus of Saturday’s performance.

Leeds United transfer need clear

Which brings us on to the major issue surrounding Leeds currently: goals. Or a lack of. Nmecha’s late penalty against Everton is the only goal Farke’s side have scored in four games, with no one finding the net from open play in 360 minutes of football.

A lack of intent there is not. Leeds have been on the front foot for the majority of three games - Arsenal being the outlier - and have committed bodies forward to create openings. But the problem has been exploiting that opening with the right decisions, the right pass, a killer through ball.

In the first-half particularly on Saturday, Leeds won loose balls in midfield and burst towards the Newcastle defence, but too often the final ball was either the wrong one or a poor one. Stach, Gnonto, Nmecha, Dan James and Longstaff were all guilty of not quite getting it right - and against Premier League defences, you simply have to get it right.

It is no secret Leeds need attacking quality before Monday’s 7pm deadline, and pointing it out does not make anyone the oracle. But Saturday’s performance in the final third only painted a clearer picture of the current deficiencies within this squad.

Sean Longstaff’s point to prove

You might have been forgiven for thinking Sean Longstaff left Newcastle on such good terms while watching the first-half on Saturday. In his first game against former teammates, the midfielder was seemingly on a mission to prove St James’ Park chiefs wrong for letting him go.

Longstaff - who many would describe as one of the game’s good guys off the pitch - was aggressive and assertive on it, slamming into challenges with Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali. It’s worth noting those two are a major reason the boyhood Geordie wasn’t playing as much as he wanted with Newcastle.

According to FotMob, Longstaff’s 13 defensive contributions - a combination of clearances, blocks, interceptions, tackles and ball recoveries - were more than anyone else on the pitch, with a trio of players from both sides on nine. The midfielder also covered huge amounts of ground.

“It was a bit strange,” Longstaff told Sky Sports of the occasion after full-time. “I thoroughly enjoyed it, some of my best friends were in the [Newcastle] dressing room and I didn't speak with them for a few days but thoroughly enjoyed the game. Loved it.”

Midfield depth a short-term issue

It would be hard for most Premier League teams to lose two of their starting three midfielders, but for a newly-promoted team that quickly becomes a huge issue. Leeds have been without Ethan Ampadu since the opening-weekend win over Everton and lost Ao Tanaka ahead of Tuesday’s Carabao Cup exit.

On Saturday, they were helped by an impressive Longstaff performance while Ilia Gruev did little to cause his side any problems. But the pair and Stach all visibly tired beyond the 60-minute mark and that fatigue could easily have been exploited by Newcastle, who themselves were without Joelinton but able to freshen things up centrally.

Farke and Leeds will be desperate to get those two injured midfielders back as soon as possible following the international break - which many would suggest has come at a good time. Even with one returning and the legs of a Longstaff or Gruev to freshen things up, they will feel a lot less exposed in that area as the second-half of games run through.