Three winners and losers from Leeds United’s draw against Man United as £5m ace shines — Leeds United News 19/7/25
Adam Elliott
Leeds United produced a solid display in their opening game
of pre-season against Man United, with Daniel Farke’s side playing out a 0-0
draw in Sweden.
His side will now head to Germany, with Leeds United also
taking part in two pre-season friendlies there last summer as well. But it was
Willy Gnonto, Ao Tanaka, Jayden Bogle, and co. especially picking up where they
left off last season.
New signings Sean Longstaff, Sebastiaan Bornauw, and Gabriel
Gudmundsson also came on for their debuts. Longstaff impressed many Leeds fans,
too.
Despite it being pre-season and players lacking sharpness,
we learnt enough about Leeds vs Man United ahead of the Premier League opener
against Everton already.
There were some excellent performances and some meaningful
ones too, as Leeds looked excellent in spells and had to defend their box well
in others. Below, are the winners and losers from the game.
Winners from Leeds United’s 0-0 draw against Man United in
Sweden
Jayden Bogle
By far the best player on the pitch in the first half, and
one of only three to survive the raft of half-time substitutions Farke made,
the £5 million former Sheffield United ace should have an impact next season.
Jayden Bogle underlined that he’s a right-back up for
another go at Premier League football, and one the 24-year-old should make a
better fist of this time around.
His driving runs and sheer intensity via a strong engine
will be key next season. Leeds will still hope to get plenty out of the obvious
first-choice at the club.
Ao Tanaka
Where others like Bogle are nailed-on starters, players like
Ao Tanaka perhaps don’t have that luxury anymore, given the competition at the
club already or competition soon see to arrive at Leeds.
The Japanese midfield maestro was popping the ball around
multi-Champions League winner Casemiro and showcased that he also has a big
part to play next season.
Leeds may well have to have more flexibility next term, with
more of a horses for courses approach, but Tanaka will be vital in some games
in particular. His technical brilliance shines, no matter the opposition.
Illan Meslier
Love it or hate it, Illan Meslier performed well after
coming on at half-time. The Frenchman hasn’t played a game since Leeds’ 2-2
draw with Swansea City but showed his best here.
This isn’t to say Meslier has a future at the club, nor does
it mean Leeds won’t still sign a new first-choice goalkeeper; but his
performance reminded Meslier, the fans, and potential suitors as well of what
he is all about at his best.
It may not be for much, but he was certainly a winner in
Stockholm. There is every chance a few interested parties saw him back to his
best and hope that they can replicate that level more consistently via a fresh
start for the goalkeeper.
Losers from Leeds United’s 0-0 draw against Man United in
Sweden
Sam Byram
A competent, if not high quality, right-back in the
Championship, Sam Byram showed the worst of his abilities as a right-footed
left-back at the Strawberry Arena.
He will be cover next season but Leeds need a better
full-back as back up, especially if Farke remains so unwilling to utilise Isaac
Schmidt again.
Leeds would benefit from a left-footed left-back as Gabriel
Gudmundsson’s understudy. The amount of attacks that went down the right in the
first 45 minutes showed Byram’s issues in build-up phases.
Patrick Bamford
After eight seasons with the club, Patrick Bamford has been
told he has no future at Leeds. It’s a disappointing turn of events for him
after showing some flashes at the back-end of last season, but not altogether
unsurprising.
His highs were extremely high and his lows were extremely
low, but Bamford sealed two promotions with Leeds and goes out on a high. With
a new striker still to come in — and Lukas Nmecha, Joel Piroe, and Mateo Joseph
still around — it’s clear to see where his place in the pecking order is.
Joel Piroe
Most players had solid displays in the end, with Piroe even
threading some lovely passes together in attack. However, unfortunately for the
Dutchman, he didn’t perform as well as Nmecha.
Not only that, but Piroe was the only Leeds player on the
pitch to be substituted twice. Rhys Chadwick was given a brief run out at the
end of the game for last season’s top scorer.
Piroe wasn’t able to make attacks stick in the way Nmecha
did, and against the more physical defenders of the Premier League, Nmecha will
be a more viable option. The pecking order for strikers became far clearer for
everyone today.