Leeds United new faces bring consequences for familiar ones as Farke ticks surprise transfer box - YEP 30/8/23
It's in with the new but not out with the old at Leeds United.
By Graham Smyth
The arrivals of Joel Piroe and Djed Spence have ticked two
important boxes for Daniel Farke in this transfer window. A goalscoring centre
forward was at the top of just about everyone's list when the squad building
conversation kicked off this summer. The Whites left it late, knowing that
Piroe's contract situation would eventually bring Swansea City to the table and
if there's an argument against his signing then it's yet to reveal itself.
Spence or even any right-back who signed at all, was always
going to be more of a surprise because in terms of priorities or urgent need,
that didn't feel so pressing. A striker, central midfielders, a 10, a
left-back, an experienced goalkeeper, a right sided centre-back - these were
the crucial bits of business to be done and some remain so.
At right-back Luke Ayling and Cody Drameh appeared to
represent as good a pairing as Leeds would need, given their respective
experiences of Championship success.
The first sign that this was not Farke's thinking came in
mid-July when there were whispers that the German wanted to go back and raid
Norwich City for Max Aarons. Yes, he could have played left-back, but he's
actually a right-back. Farke wanted a right-back. This week he got one, albeit
on loan and with no option to make it permanent. Spence too has a promotion to
the Premier League on his CV and clearly falls into the same category of
sensible-looking recruitment that brought Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon and Joe Piroe
to the club.
There's little doubt that this is the end of the road for
Drameh at Leeds, which is a story in itself and a confusing one because
regardless of that torrid 20-minute cameo at left-back at Ipswich he has the
potential to earn himself one-who-got-away status.
What does Spence's arrival mean for Ayling, though, who like
Drameh has a summer 2024 contract end date but is plainly going nowhere?
What it means is the same thing that Piroe's arrival means
for Bamford. It's a direct challenge, a threat to their place in the starting
XI. With Bamford still out injured, Piroe is fit and in form and after such an
impressive debut, a goalscoring one to boot, a starting place is his to lose.
Where Bamford would once have walked back into the team the minute he was fit,
he will now have to bide his time. At right-back things are different because
Ayling is fit and Spence hasn't been playing this season, so it remains to be
seen if the new face will supplant the more familiar one straight away.
Relief at seeing your club strengthen is a perfectly normal
reaction but it is harder to understand the glee expressed in some quarters
where the perception is that Leeds are moving on from promotion-winning players
who could still do a good job in the second tier.
A charge previously levelled at Leeds, that sentimentality
prevented them from doing the right thing in a number of positions, held a
little less weight than the notion that finances were a barrier, or at least a
motivation to stick with what they had - particularly in the summer of 2021.
Whatever the reason, areas of the pitch went without a necessary refresh for
far too long.
Leeds did eventually try to upgrade at right-back, in the
form of Rasmus Kristensen, and the Dane had the look of a solid signing until
he got on the pitch.
But football's obsession with discarding a perfectly good
option for a shiny new thing is not going away any time soon and it has reared
its head this summer. There is a general acceptance that a new face spells doom
for an older one, or at least poses awkward questions that the existing player
cannot answer. Familiarity does indeed breed contempt.
Yet perhaps instead of shouting for Piroe and Spence instead
of Bamford or Ayling, the magic of the word 'and' should be embraced a little
more warmly. What the signing of Piroe really does is take pressure off Bamford
and remove Leeds' over-reliance on the number nine. You could almost deem
Bamford a luxury, allow him to fully rehabilitate, get into a condition that
has eluded him too often in the past two seasons and then drip feed him back in
off the bench. That's the ideal scenario for Leeds and Bamford himself, until
he's fully fit and firing.
As a focal point for the attack there will be few better in
the division coming into games that need changing or controlling. The prospect
of Piroe and Bamford playing together is also well worth considering, with the
Dutchman dropping in behind to play off and around the nine. If Piroe is your
20-goal man then Bamford could be the double figures support act. Ask the man
himself and he won't settle for that because he's not the type, in fact it
might fuel a burning desire to prove everyone wrong and cup his hands to his
ears again, but it would be enough for Leeds.
Similarly, Ayling will be telling himself that he saw off
Kristensen and Drameh so why shouldn't he see Spence off too, and that would be
the perfect mindset, but regardless, the 32-year-old is a player, leader and
character with a big part to play this season.
There have been times already when Farke's young side have
been naive and that's when the wily know-how of an Ayling or a Bamford or a
Cooper can be invaluable. There will be games that call for Bamford holding it
up and drawing a foul to kill pressure or time. Ayling turning his body to take
contact and flop for a late free-kick will be as valuable late on as a Spence
dribble down the flank.
Transfers write headlines in the summer and they get
everyone all excited. It's fair to say that the proven, low-risk nature of
Piroe and Spence as additions justify the hype in a way that several 2021 to
2022 transfers did not. Just don't write off the old guard yet. It takes a
squad to win promotion.