Daniel Farke must recall 27-year-old back into Leeds starting XI, his absence was huge at Stoke – opinion

Add as preferred source on Google

Daniel Farke opted to rotate his Leeds United side for Wednesday night’s trip to Stoke City.

Unfortunately, though, those changed backfired as Leeds produced a limp display at the bet365 Stadium which ultimately proved costly, as they went onto lose 1-0.

Summer signing Ilia Gruev was one of the three changes Farke made to his side, coming into partner Ethan Ampadu in midfield, in what was his full debut for the Whites.

It was an extremely difficult game for Gruev to come in and make his first Championship start, with Leeds really struggling to have any sustained possession in good areas.

However, part of that was down to the fact Gruev himself could not get into the game, and it became clear Leeds were missing a key part of their midfield from recent weeks.

Farke needs to recall Kamara on Saturday

Farke opted to drop Glen Kamara to the bench in midweek and his absence was hard felt, as he has been good at providing the link between the front four and rest of the team in recent weeks.

Kamara was an unused substitute on Wednesday as Farke wanted to hand him somewhat of a rest after his exploits for Finland during the international break, where he played 90 minutes across both matches.

However, his quality in possession was sorely missed. Gruev is probably too similar to Ampadu in the way that both do their best work just in front of the back four, and so the partnership did not work.

Kamara on the other hand, is capable of breaking lines with his passing and carrying of the ball, something which was on display when Leeds beat Bristol City earlier this month.

The 27-year-old is exactly the number eight that Ampadu needs alongside him in order for Leeds to thrive, and so it is a no brainer to throw him straight back into the XI.