Dan James’ hamstring injury means one of Leeds United’s new signings Largie Ramazani or Manor Solomon has a real chance of a full debut against Hull City.
James is set to be out until after the international break after picking up an injury in training at the worst time, having scored in last Friday’s 2-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday.
However, Leeds will have at least two new faces in the squad from their last outing with Ramazani having now been granted international clearance.
Solomon’s loan switch from Tottenham was also eventually confirmed on Tuesday and so he will be available as well, having had a full pre-season after missing the majority of the 2023/24 campaign.
Whether Daniel Farke is prepared to chuck one of them into the starting XI straight away remains to be seen, but both should be match fit enough.
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Where Solomon has been lining up in Leeds training
In their official statement announcing his arrival, Leeds effectively described Solomon as a market opportunity that was too good to turn down, having only become available in recent days.
However, what it does mean is that Leeds now have three wingers in Solomon, Ramazani and Wilfried Gnonto who all prefer playing off the left.
At this stage, Gnonto’s position in the starting XI is very much set in stone considering how impressive he was at Sheffield Wednesday.
Having said that, Gnonto spent much of the game at Hillsborough drifting inside and playing centrally, while the majority of his starts last season came on the right.
As such, Gnonto may be forced to adapt his role after Leeds’ latest two new signings, particularly after the club’s latest YouTube video, showing all the footage of Solomon’s first day.
In the final minute of the video, Solomon was captured playing on the left-hand-side directly up against right-back Jayden Bogle.
Despite describing himself as someone who can play all across the front positions in his first interview, his best position is off the left and based off this training footage, it looks like it is where he will play.
Who should replace James – Ramazani, Solomon or even Piroe?
James will be a big miss against Hull City after his performance last time out, but thankfully Farke has options to replace him.
As mentioned, all of Ramazani, Solomon and Gnonto prefer playing off the left but it is certainly difficult to see the latter being shifted any time soon.
However, with a space now open in the starting XI, there is a chance one of Solomon or Ramazani are handed a full debut against Hull City.
Considering he has already played a league match for Almeria this season, Ramazani feels the most likely candidate.
Of course, there is also the possibility Joel Piroe comes in as the number 10 again, with Brenden Aaronson shifting over to the right. However, Leeds are a much better side without him in there.
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