Leeds United eased past Bundesliga 2 side Hannover 96 on Wednesday afternoon in the first of their two friendlies while in Germany, and Joe Rothwell produced something “pretty special”.
Daniel Farke’s men already looked as if they were ready for the new Championship campaign in what was only their second pre-season friendly of the summer, in a match played behind closed doors in Germany.
The Whites came up against a Hannover side expected to be pushing for promotion from Germany’s second tier on Wednesday afternoon. But Leeds eased to a 4-1 victory, despite a raft of changes made.
Ilia Gruev got the ball rolling early on, after a stunning assist from Brenden Aaronson. A player who was the subject of praise from Tony Dorigo, saying that Aaronson had put some muscle on while on loan.
Rothwell praised by Tony Dorigo for moment in second half
Joel Piroe made it two after good work from Georginio Rutter on the right, before the changes came at half-time. Mateo Joseph showcased why he deserves to start, with two second-half poacher’s goals.
Summer signing Rothwell, 29, came off the bench at half-time and the on-loan Bournemouth midfielder showed some nice touches. One of which was a backheeled flick on the edge of his own penalty area.
Former Leeds man Tony Dorigo was on co-commentary duty for LUTV, in a full-match replay posted after full-time. He was wowed, saying he’s heard many of Rothwell’s old teammates praise his technique.
“Oh! Rothwell, I want to see that one again. That was fantastic, great feet, I always hear teammates of his say he’s got the quickest feet ever, well I think you saw something pretty special there,” Dorigo said.
“From what I’ve seen, I really like of Rothwell. Sharp feet, and always trying to pass the ball forward which is really important,” the former Leeds man continued as Rothwell flicked the ball to a Whites teammate.
Dorigo is not the only one impressed by Rothwell so far
While his signing might have come out of the blue slightly and the reaction from supporters slightly subdued given he played for Southampton last term on loan, Rothwell has caught the eye for Leeds.
Not just from Dorigo, but from youngster Charlie Crew too. Wales star Crew said recently that Rothwell has quickly made impressions in training, it’s easy to see the type of player the on-loan star is for Leeds.
Does he start for The Whites? Probably not, and that might have been shown in Farke choosing Ethan Ampadu and Gruev in the middle on Wednesday. But he will certainly play a key role for Leeds next term.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
