Daniel Farke rejects Leeds United 'favourites' tag and weighs in on club's number 10 decision — YEP 31/8/24
By Graham Smyth
Daniel Farke says Leeds United lack the experience or proven
quality to accept the tag of 'big favourites' for promotion despite
strengthening in the summer transfer window.
Speaking after a second successive 2-0 victory in the
Championship, this time against Hull City at Elland Road, Farke welcomed the
arrivals of his final four new signings. The German says Leeds have got
'interesting' young players in the window and good characters he is excited to
work with and develop. But he again highlighted the absence of a natural number
10 among the new arrivals, saying the club decided not to go in that direction,
and the lack of finished articles.
Leeds went into the final eight days of the window wanting
four players - a full-back, central midfielder and two attackers. By the time
the deadline passed they had signed four, ticking all of those boxes. Manor
Solomon added Premier League quality in a loan move from Tottenham Hotspur,
Leeds spent £10m on Largie Ramazani from Almeria, bought Ao Tanaka from the
German second tier and full-back Isaac Schmidt from the Swiss Super League.
"I always like if we speak about the window and where
we are, I always like to be honest and open and transparent, and then try to
name the situation like it is," he said. "So the task was to
strengthen us on a few positions, and exactly in the positions where we needed
to strengthen the group. We have done the business. We got the full-back, we
got the midfielder, we got two offensive options. You could still speak about
potentially a traditional number 10. But it was not easy in this market. So for
that, it's good.
"Also the four players that we brought in, I think they
are all on a really good age, all 23, 24, 25, no teenagers anymore, but still
more or less [going] up the hill in their career, and they are still full of
energy and want to improve. This is good. I like all their characters and
mentality. They are desperate to be here. And then for them, it's a big
challenge, also to be involved in such a big club, very interesting players
from their potential and also from their quality. We also have to be honest, it's
not the finished end products I spoke about. So all of them, never had a game
on Championship level. Largie Ramazani, not one game in senior football in the
UK. Ao Tanaka and Isaac Schmidt, really interesting players, but let's be
honest, they have not played in a top league so far, and especially also not in
English football. And Manor came, after a difficult, difficult year, after
long-term injury. So we're not the finished product."
Farke says his new-look Leeds squad cannot be compared to
the one that ended last season with 90 points and went all the way to the
play-off final, so it will take work on the training ground to find solutions
for problems that individuals might previously have solved.
"It's not like we have perhaps individual quality, like
last season, when the opponent is sitting deep, and then we have the magic of
Cree Summerville or Georginio Rutter who with just one situation can cut
opponent into pieces. So we have still work to do. And for that, it's perhaps
also fair to say, after so many key players left us, after so many key players
who were also in the league, dominating in their position, it's perhaps also
fair to say that we don't perhaps have the brand anymore to be the big favourite
in this league, because we brought interesting players in, but also players who
are not completely proven and mature on this level. And for that, I think it's
also too early to praise them right now, and also their quality, so they have
to deliver on the mid and the long term, also on this level.
"But what we have is definitely a really good group, a
good basement group, and an exciting group. And right now it's up to me to work
with them in order to get the best out of this group. We have a chance to play
a really good season and then hopefully also a successful season. But again,
it's a group with not many finished end products. Many, many interesting young
players, but much work is needed. After back-to-back wins and eight good points
out of the opening four games and three key clean sheets, we are on a good
path. But I think in this moment, we are far away from speaking about we have a
big brand of being the big favourite in this league. For that, we're lacking a
bit of experience and a bit of proven quality on this level, but we have an
exciting group, and I'm also excited to work with them."
As for the number 10 position, Farke admits a natural player
in the role is particularly helpful in a division where teams will park the bus
against Leeds. The Whites made a bid for Gustavo Hamer that Sheffield United
rejected and had talks with SC Freiburg for Hungary international Roland
Sallai. Farke does consider Brenden Aaronson a 'specialist' at 10 and sees Joel
Piroe as capable of playing there, albeit as more of a second striker. But
without a new addition he will work to make solutions from what he has.
"Yes, it's always easier when you are capable to bring
a player in with multi million pounds money, in order to have proven quality,
who is proven to score goals and assists on this level, and especially once the
opponent is seeking deeper and parks the bus, you need also these creative
players," he said. "It's never easy when you perhaps don't have this
traditional number 10. But yeah, we decided as a club to go this way. If you
don't have it, then you need to work with other tools. That's what we're trying
to do. Yeah, of course, in the ideal dream world, would have had also this
player right now available, but if we don't have them, then it's not about to
complain. It's more like, okay, come on, then we work with what we've got. And
I'm excited to work with this exciting young group."
According to the manager the difficulty in getting such a
player lies not only with the necessary finances but in the other filters that
signings must go through to be good enough to become new additions.
"My first view is always like, the homegrown market is
also not that easy, to be honest, and then it's important to find players in
the good age," he said. "So it's not like just okay, they're just up
for to earn some money with a good contract. We want players who are hungry and
also desperate to defend this shirt. I want top class mentalities and
characters who are good in the dressing room as well, and obviously players
with quality. And I think in all these aspects, we found really good players.
If you then want also that the players are proven with many games on
Championship level, many games in English football and have delivered, for
example, on the number 10 position with goals and assists then you have to
spend an unbelievable amount of money. And during this the summer, the club has
decided not to do this in this way. And that's also absolutely fine.
“So we work then with what we've got. We accept, and also if
you don't, can't bring in just proven players on this level you can't speak
about okay, we are right now the big favourite in this league. But I got the
feeling so with this group, we have got a proper group who is excited also to
work with each other, willing to work their socks off for this club, and then
also together with our supporters, to build one unity, we are still capable
also to be successful, and this is what we are trying to do."
As regards the finances and Leeds' decision not to spend on
a number 10, Farke says it's not his department and not a choice he is there to
make.
"I'm a sportsman, and I'm concentrate on sports and the
quality of the players," he said. "And for me, it was such a busy
window in order to prepare this, also after many outgoings and new incomings
for the games. Also to analyse potential new signings and and give my thoughts
on [that]. I'm not an accountant. So I can't tell you right now how exactly the
situation looks like, what we would have been capable to spend. We spent lots
of money also on Joe Roden, for example, and also a bit on Jayden Bogle. If it
would be possible to spend even more? I can't tell you, because it's also not
my topic.