Leeds United new boy set for Friday night routine swap and giving Whites something different — YEP 21/7/24

By Graham Smyth

Joe Rothwell has traded Friday nights watching Leeds United on the box for Friday nights under the lights, playing for them.

Last season the Whites became an unintentional part of the attacking midfielder's weekend routine. For most footballers operating at a certain level, Friday and Saturday nights will be spent in a team hotel watching whatever game happens to be on. Nine times last season that Friday night game did indeed involve Leeds United, so as Rothwell and his Southampton team-mates were relaxing ahead of their own match they tuned in to watch the Whites.

Rothwell has now had plenty of opportunities to see his new team-mates in the flesh, up close, and just like last season he likes what he sees. Speaking to the YEP after the first session of the Whites' training camp in Germany he said: "I've been really impressed. Obviously I watched a lot of them last year. Leeds seemed to always be the team that was on TV last year, so you spend your Friday nights in a hotel and it was usually Leeds you were watching. I watched a lot of them and I was really impressed with what they did. Obviously they were really unlucky last year and obviously the aim this year is really clear, to get back into the Premier League."

At 29, Rothwell is one of the older heads in Daniel Farke's squad. His 168 Championship games, 73 League One outings and 31 Premier League appearances mark him out as one of the most experienced in Leeds' travelling party. But no matter how long he's been in the game, pre-season is never something he can take lightly.

"No, it never gets easier, in fact it probably gets harder, especially as you get a bit older," he said. "I was probably the opposite when I was younger, I just used to take pre-season as a way to get fit. But the game's changing. Now you've got to come back in half decent shape. So you have a couple of weeks off and then you just keep ticking over. I'd probably say I'm a little bit nervous every time I come back for pre-season because obviously, you don't just want to get on the pitch and run around but that's part of the game and you've got to do it. [This morning was] tough. Obviously coming into the heat makes it a little bit harder but I think it's just what we needed. After the [Harrogate] game the other day we had a down day so it was nice to come back out and get some more into the legs. Hopefully we've seen the back end of that [running] now and we just do a little bit more with the ball."

Working with the ball is what Rothwell believes he does best. His main attribute - carrying the ball at speed - gives the central midfield a different feel to it. Both Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev are distance-covering, ball-recovering stoppers, though both would argue their passing ability marks them out as much more than that. The now departed Glen Kamara was a link man. None of the three would be particularly considered as dribblers.

"I like to play as a number eight," said Rothwell. "Box to box, pick the ball up a bit deeper and travel with it. That's probably my main strength and I'll try to bring that to the table, implement it and hopefully we can have a really successful season. You've got to do things to fit into how he wants to play, but a huge part of bringing me here was to go and do what he knows that I can do and try and bring that to the team. It feels probably like something they didn't have a little bit last year so hopefully I can come and do that. But you've still got to fit into what the manager wants as well."

Rothwell is described by former team-mates and coaches as the humble, quiet type who just gets on with his job. But with experience, especially in a squad with as young a profile as the one Farke has at his disposal, comes a certain level of responsibility. Dotted around the training venue as Rothwell speaks to the YEP are prospects aged 15 to 18. Charlie Crew, 18, is expected to play a part in Farke's plans. Harry Gray, 15, is perhaps still a little on the young side to be considered for Championship action but he has already caught Rothwell's eye.

"It's weird that I'm probably classed as one of the older lads now at 29," he said. "So it's just a massive cycle. I remember when I was at that age looking up to people who were 30-odd thinking I've got a long time to go and now I'm looking the other way saying I've maybe not got too long to go. I've been really impressed with what Harry's been doing, for such a young lad, he looks like a really mature player. Bright future for him I think."

Saturday's signing of Jayden Bogle and the return of loanees Max Wober and Brenden Aaronson mean that Rothwell is no longer the new kid. He says he already feels well integrated with the squad, thanks to their welcome, and hopes that his seniority will excuse him from an initiation. Though pre-season is only really in its infancy, thoughts are already starting to turn to games. Leeds will play two friendlies as part of their German trip and before long Rothwell will be eyeing a competitive debut and the start of a journey towards his only real purpose this season.

"First couple of weeks is all about getting a base fitness and a lot of running," he said. "So you look forward to when the games start because you know, that's probably the back end of the running and yeah, it's more about the tactical side of the game, knowing what the manager wants to do and trying to implement that in the games that we've got before the season starts.

"I don't think it needs telling to you. Leeds United is a huge football club. Obviously really unlucky to be in the Championship. It's probably a fan base and a team that shouldn't be in the Championship. So as I said, there's one aim this year and obviously that's to get back to the Premier League."