Graham Smyth outlines 'extremely difficult' Cheikhou Kouyaté decision amid Leeds United medical reports — YEP 15/10/24

By Kyle Newbould

Leeds United are considering a move for the former Nottingham Forest and West Ham United man.

Cheikhou Kouyaté faces a huge task in proving his fitness to Daniel Farke as Leeds United continue to weigh up a possible move for the free agent midfielder, according to the YEP’s chief football writer Graham Smyth.

Elland Road recruitment chiefs have been forced to assess the free agent market following serious injuries to Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev, with the former out until the New Year while the latter may not return until March. It leaves Leeds without a senior defensive midfielder and with the transfer window not open until January, players currently without a club are being looked at.

Among a small group of options is Kouyaté, who seems the most likely to sign as things stand despite conflicting reports over the weekend. Football Insider suggested over the weekend that a move was off but have now claimed the 34-year-old will undergo medical tests at Thorp Arch.

Whether Leeds sign Kouyaté, or any other option, remains to be seen but Farke has made clear his reservations when it comes to signing free agents and will not sanction the arrival of someone who can’t contribute quickly. And the YEP’s chief football writer Smyth recently pointed to the Senegal international’s recent minutes record as evidence of that challenge.

“Kouyaté, from Boxing Day 2023, played six minutes for Forest in the second-half of last season so it's difficult,” Smyth told the YEP’s Inside Elland Road podcast last week. “The match fitness thing is probably Farke’s biggest concern. You have to say with a player like that, it's not even as if he were playing regularly until May and has then had a few months off.

“You're actually saying he last played regular minutes, last season was so sporadic with 208 minutes across the entire season so you'd actually have to go back to the 2022/23 season and even then he had a big lay-off with a hamstring injury. The difficulty is extreme.”

Leeds have shown a willingness to adapt when it comes to transfers under 49ers Enterprises and the long-term absence of both defensive midfielders would justify a change of track. But Farke was quizzed on the possibility of signing a free agent after Gruev’s injury at Norwich City and the German’s stance was clear.

"If I'm really honest, I'm not a big friend of signing players who are out of contract in the beginning of October, because it means more or less they are out of team training since May," he said. "That means they are out of team training since whatever, five months.

“Even if you bring them in, it lasts also a while until they are really ready to go and fully fit and really could play first team football and then quite often the player who is right now injured for the next few weeks, he's even back in perhaps and ready to go earlier than the players who are out for five months.

"I think quite often it's a bit like a panic buy or like to pretend to do something anyhow. I think it's professional to check it, and sometimes out of coincidence or out of a special situation, there could be someone out who really suits the needs in this moment."