Leeds United remain unbeaten in pre-season after a 1-1 draw with Villarreal at Elland Road in their fourth friendly of the summer.
Joel Piroe equalised to maintain Leeds United’s unbeaten run, with a 0-0 draw against Man United, a 4-1 win against SC Verl, and a 3-2 win over SC Paderborn 07 so far.
The final game before they start their Premier League campaign against Everton comes against AC Milan in Dublin next weekend. That will be on Saturday 9th August 2025 at 3.00pm.
It will be played at the Aviva Stadium and the 51,700 capacity arena will play host to the Premier League club’s final pre-season friendly.
They are now very much in the thick of things and players are building their sharpness and match fitness ahead of the curtain raiser. However, not everyone looks particularly at it yet.
Leeds United supporters are less than impressed with Sean Longstaff
Bedding in new players can take time but Sean Longstaff struggled during the 45 minutes he played in his first game of any description at Elland Road, even if it was not yet his competitive debut.
Longstaff also plays cricket in the off-season but getting up to speed is taking him longer than his fellow teammates and the other new signings. Longstaff struggled against Man United in the first game, too.
With numerous ways Daniel Farke can feature Longstaff, he featured in midfield here. Leeds fans took to Twitter/X to respond to his performance via Beren Cross’ post.
One stated: “I don’t really wanna slate the guy, but my opinion on longstaff hasn’t changed since signing him, I’ll say that. Our current best midfield is ampadu, Stach and Tanaka.”
Another said: “Very uninspiring half, not sure what quality Longstaff demonstrated. Zero threat with Nmecha and no wingers, Gnonto cutting in everytime slows progress on the left. Hopefully Largie and Piroe are on it second half.”
Further replies to the post said: “Longstaff looks well off it Beren?” and “Longstaff? Game seems to completely pass him by in that current role.”
Another stated: “Longstaff’s weight of pass just seems horror.”
Daniel Farke has been giving Longstaff and Jack Harrison extra instructions. That shouldn’t be a surprise given that Longstaff has played such little football over the last year.
- READ MORE: Lucas Perri injury timeline revealed after being ruled out of Leeds United friendly vs Villarreal
Michael Bridges’ verdict on Sean Longstaff
Michael Bridges thinks Longstaff is brilliant but others like Farke have admitted it’s been tough for Longstaff in pre-season so far.
Bridges said: “[Longstaff] wasn’t a leader at Newcastle, but he said he learned so much from being under the guidance of senior players,” Bridges said.
“Now he’s coming into a much younger team, he said he’s looking forward to a leadership role, which I thought was absolutely brilliant because he’s a true professional.”
Sandro Tonali believes Longstaff is underrated and potentially the most undervalued player he has played with. However, Leeds are yet to see that side of him thus far.
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