‘His only problem’… Daniel Farke admits it is really ‘tough’ for £4m player at Leeds United right now

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Daniel Farke has admitted that Charlie Cresswell finds himself in a tough situation at Leeds United, at the moment.

Cresswell has made just one of the last 10 matchday squads for Leeds and has played just one minute since the Carabao Cup elimination to Salford City back in August.

The 21-year-old currently finds himself as Leeds’ fourth choice centre-back behind Pascal Struijk, Joe Rodon and Liam Cooper, with the former two having built a strong partnership.

Amid his recent lack of game time, Farke was asked how Cresswell is currently feeling at Leeds in his pre-Coventry City press conference, where he explained his snub at Sunderland despite the lack of defensive options on the bench.

Farke says he is pleased with how Cresswell has continued to knuckle down in training, and just finds himself in an unfortunate position whereby rotation only happens due to injury.

Cresswell attracting January interest

He said: “It was more due to the situation and what could happen during the game, it’s not often you change the centre back positions. Charlie was also an option when Sam Byram was not available but we decided to take one more offensive player because Rutter was struggling with a cold and Bamford with the flu.

“With Joseph I wanted three strikers in this game because it is more likely that you have to react chasing the game. It’s tough at the moment but Charlie doesn’t have to prove anything.

“His only problem is that we have lots of competition on two of the best defenders this season and Liam, a reliable guy. You have to keep going. This chance sometimes quicker than you expect and this is what Charlie does.”

Cresswell is already attracting interest from Championship clubs due to his lack of minutes, with Middlesbrough – who were also interested in a £4m permanent deal last January – and Leeds’ promotion rivals Southampton reportedly interested.

Both sides are said to be keen on taking him on loan, though Farke is said to have told him that he will be expected to stay at Leeds next month.

That puts Cresswell in a difficult position as at his age, he needs to be playing regular football in order to fulfil his potential, but sending him to a promotion rival would be strange.

It may be a case of Cresswell having to be patient for the rest of the season in the hope that his chance arrives, before making a proper decision on his future in the summer.