Daniel Farke has praised the performance of one of his Leeds United fringe players at Preston North End ahead of the final home match of 2024 against Oxford United.
Farke was quizzed on the prospect of rotation over the next couple of weeks as Leeds begin a period of five matches in just 15 days over the Christmas and New Year period.
Leeds boast arguably the best squad in the Championship this season and so Farke needs to make the most of that by rotating effectively.
This time 12 months ago, Leeds suffered back-to-back defeats at Preston North and West Brom during the festive period and Farke can certainly learn from the mistakes he made.
Farke kept an unchanged side at Deepdale and then arguably changed it too much at the Hawthorns, but there shouldn’t be the same excuse this time around with the depth he has at his disposal.
Farke says Manor Solomon produced his best Leeds display
It was looking like another frustrating away day at PNE last weekend but the quality Farke was able to bring off the bench helped rescue a late point.
Patrick Bamford, Largie Ramazani, Mateo Joseph, Manor Solomon and Ethan Ampadu were all introduced in the second half, players who would walk into most sides at this level.
It was Joseph who stole the headlines after his run to the near post helped force Jack Whatmough into putting the ball into his own net, but speaking in his pre-Oxford press conference, it was Solomon who Farke spoke highly of.
Solomon completed three dribbles in the limited time he had on the pitch, and it was his run across the pitch that managed to work the ball over to Dan James for the goal.
Farke believes that was the best ’20 or 25 minutes’ Solomon has played since returning from injury back in October.
He said: “Manor Solomon, for me, probably his best 20 or 25 minutes in the last weeks. He was sharp, made good decisions and played a major role in order to score the equaliser because he carried the ball, won his offensive duels and gave the ball to Dan James, who was then there with another good assist for this own goal.”
Solomon stats in Leeds draw at PNE
Farke is certainly right in what he’s saying about Solomon, as he looked incredibly sharp from almost the minute he stepped onto the pitch.
The PNE defenders simply couldn’t tackle him and it is clear he has got his confidence back after struggling a tad around October/November time.
| Stat | Solomon |
| Minutes | 13 |
| Touches | 16 |
| Dribbles (succ.) | 4 (3) |
| Key passes | 1 |
| Ground duels (won) | 5 (3) |
| Crosses (acc.) | 7 (1) |
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