Ilia Gruev and Charlie Cresswell have been starved of game time for Leeds United but Daniel Farke has told his press conference – as per the club’s YouTube – he was happy to see both play during the break.
Leeds are back in action following the end of the second break of the season, with a trip to Farke’s old side Norwich on Saturday. First time he’s returned as a manager of another side after leaving in 2021.
Gruev, 23, has failed to start a single game since his £4m move from Werder Bremen in the summer. The form of Ethan Ampadu, Archie Gray and Glen Kamara has kept the Bulgaria midfielder on the bench.
The Bulgarian ace, though, started both games for Bulgaria during the break. Cresswell has seen his game time reduce largely due to the displays of Pascal Struijk and the signing of Joe Rodon on loan.
But, with Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis picking up an injury, Cresswell started both games for the England 21’s over the last fortnight – even scoring his first goal. Farke is delighted to see both play.
“Lots of load for some of them. For some it was beneficial, like Ilia Gruev or Charlie Cresswell. For some, I would have been concerned, but everyone has come back without any injury,” Farke said on Thursday.
Farke happy as Leeds duo Gruev and Cresswell play during break
It did not go to plan for Gruev in terms of results, during the break. A 2-0 home defeat to Lithuania saw Bulgaria’s dismal Euro qualifying campaign go from bad to worse. Gruev played in a three-man defence.
Then, a 2-0 friendly defeat to Albania – in which he lasted 86 minutes. For Cresswell, he played 90 mins in the huge 9-1 win over Serbia, and then again in the shock 3-2 loss to Ukraine – though he did score.
Both are unlikely to start on Saturday when Leeds go to Norwich. But, Ethan Ampadu and Glen Kamara both played a lot during the break, as did Archie Gray – three full games. Gruev could be used.
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