As speculation regarding a potential Leeds United return for Kalvin Phillips ramps up, a current member of Daniel Farke’s squad was left with a bit to ponder when asked about a homecoming of his own.
According to reports, Leeds have a verbal agreement to bring Kalvin Phillips back to Elland Road this summer.
The former fans’ favourite is expected to leave Manchester City after an underwhelming spell at the Etihad Stadium, with loan spells at West Ham and Ipswich Town doing little to arrest the rapid decline of his once-glowing reputation.
Though, given how the last few seasons have gone for him, Phillips might not simply be able to stroll back into the Leeds United XI.
Daniel Farke describes Ao Tanaka as an ‘outstanding’ addition for just £3 million. Leeds United could turn Joe Rothwell’s loan deal permanent. Farke is a big fan of Ilia Gruev too, even if some sections of the Elland Road fanbase are a little more uncertain about the battling Bulgarian.
Ilia Gruev shares Leeds United ‘dream’ when asked about Bundesliga return
Gruev has been in and out of the Leeds XI this season, in part due to an injury which kept him on the sidelines for four months earlier in the campaign. When Leeds play at home, against teams looking to defend deep, Farke often prefers the creativity of Joe Rothwell.
Away from home against tougher opposition, however, Gruev tends to come into his own.
The £4 million signing from Werder Bremen cannot wait to potentially showcase his skills on the Premier League stage, even if four points from the last nine available has opened the door to Sheffield United and Burnley as three teams chase down two automatic promotion spots.
While Phillips weighs up a second spell at his beloved Leeds, Gruev is currently not thinking of a return to Germany having spent eight years in the green of Werder Bremen.
“Honestly? I don’t know [about another spell in the Bundesliga]. The goal now is clearly to get promoted with Leeds,” Gruev tells Sport1. “The Premier League would be an absolute dream for me. I want to play in the best league in the world.
“I find the Bundesliga very attractive but, for now, I want to continue proving myself in England.”
Gruev captained Werder Bremen at Under-19 level before making his senior bow in December 2020. He would go on to make 62 appearances for the Weser Stadium outfit, helping the former German champions climb back out of the second tier before re-establishing themselves alongside the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.
Like Phillips and Leeds, Werder Bremen will always hold a special place in Gruev’s heart.
“When I have the time, I still enjoy watching Werder Bremen games,” adds the Sofia-born 24-year-old. “I’m still in good contact with some of the players, like Felix [Agu], Leo [Bittencourt], Milos [Velijkovic] and Amos [Pieper].
“They’re friends of mine, and that will remain so.”
Farke defends Ilia Gruev as Bulgarian remains a divisive presence amongst Leeds fans
Ilia Gruev was seemingly the subject of the Leeds fans’ frustrations back in September, as The Whites’ side laboured to a 2-0 win at Cardiff City.
By his own admission, Daniel Farke cannot really understand Gruev’s lack of popularity among some sections of the support. It is no coincidence, he feels, that Leeds avoided defeat at Burnley while dominating Coventry City and Watford in tough away fixtures with him in the starting XI.
“Ilia Gruev, since he came into our line up more or less in January 2024, probably until his big injury, he was our most consistent player [for nine months],” Farke argues. “He was outstanding for us; Defensive-wise, offensive- wise, controlled our game…
“Then, he sacrificed his body. I think it was away at Norwich, he got a tackle against him. He was out for everyone said more than four months. He worked so hard and his socks off in his rehab more or less three and a half months in order to come back as quick as possible.
“Everyone was moaning when he was out about our away form. [They said] ‘We don’t win away games anymore’. Ilia Gruev, after being out for three and a half months, we brought him back, Burnley, away, clean sheet. Watford away, clean sheet, win. Coventry away, clean sheet, win.
“Yes, right now, his rhythm is a bit away after he was out, after he was back, after being out for three and a half months. He had one or two poorer performances in the starting line-up away at Sheffield and against Sunderland.
“But we still managed to win both games when he was in the starting line up and everyone is like complaining a little bit about him.”
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