There have been differing fortunes for Leeds United’s 10 new signings since they all made their way to Elland Road in the summer, but Daniel Farke admits one has found it “tricky”.
Gabriel Gudmundsson, Anton Stach, Sean Longstaff, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Noah Okafor all find themselves as first choice under Daniel Farke, at the moment. If the quintet are fit, then they start.
The other five have had to watch from the sidelines, or spent time out injured. Lucas Perri is fit again but only after missing the last five Premier League matches. Pressure is growing for Jaka Bijol to finally start.
Lukas Nmecha has started once against Newcastle and offers a threat from the bench, but for James Justin and Sebastiaan Bornauw, it has been largely a watching brief since arriving at Elland Road.
Daniel Farke admits new Leeds signing is finding things “tricky”
Farke has had his eye on Bornauw for years. While at Norwich, the German gaffer tried to lure him to Carrow Road but proved unsuccessful. In the summer, Leeds finally got their man for a bargain £5m.
There was optimism around the signing of Bornauw, a player with four Belgium caps to his name and a wealth of experience in several European top-flights. But he has played just once for Leeds this season.
That came in the Carabao Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. Having missed out on Belgium’s squad during the October break, Farke admits that it has been “tricky” for Bornauw, more so than Bijol.
“It’s always a bit tricky at centre-back, you don’t change it much. Wingers, strikers, creative midfielders [you change]. If you’re chasing a game, changing a centre-back doesn’t make much of an impact.
“It was good for Jaka that he had the two games, 90 minutes [each] for his National Team. That’s quite important. For Sebastiaan, it is a bit more tricky because he was not called up for Belgium,” Farke said.
“We used the international break for an in-house friendly, so they don’t lose the feeling for the positions and bring similar load to the legs. There is no replacement for games but this is professional football.”
Sebastiaan Bornauw might not play until FA Cup third round
Farke’s comments make it clear that he is not going to change at centre-back unless he absolutely feels he has to. Aidy White thinks Farke has got to make a change and bring in Bijol, replacing Pascal Struijk.
But even then, Bornauw remains fourth choice. If there is an injury to the likes of Rodon, Bijol or Struijk, Bornauw still doesn’t get to start. Bornauw would need two of the other three centre-backs to miss out.
Rodon has started 94 consecutive league games, including play-offs, for Leeds. Struijk is more susceptible to injury, but even then, Bijol comes in ahead of Bornauw. Bornauw may not feature until January.
The next-likely outing that could tempt Farke to start Bornauw will be the third round of The FA Cup, which takes place at the beginning of January. Until then, it would be a surprise to see Bornauw play.
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