Daniel Farke is rigid when it comes to picking his starting XI. Leeds United fans have come to expect this since the German manager rocked up at Elland Road back in the summer of 2023.
Last season, Brenden Aaronson started 44 of 46 Championship games, coming on as a sub in the first two games of the season, having returned from a loan at Union Berlin. That was despite huge criticism of him.
Jon Newsome has recently said that Aaronson should have been sold. It also took Farke months to finally drop Illan Meslier, with the Frenchman eventually axed after a 2-2 draw against Swansea at Elland Road.
But Leeds fans wanted Meslier dropped months before that, after the 3-3 draw against Hull. Farke does not like to change his starting XI and for those not in it, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay happy.
A penny for Sebastiaan Bornauw’s thoughts after £5m move…
Jaka Bijol and Ao Tanaka have already voiced their frustration at a lack of starts. Jack Harrison’s off-season trainer says he is desperate to start. But Farke has already shown he won’t cave in; he sticks to his guns.
The centre-back situation at the moment is Pascal Struijk or Bijol alongside Rodon. Struijk’s lack of duels won could tempt Farke to bring in Bijol next Saturday, with Bijol keeping a clean sheet against Kosovo.
But for Sebastiaan Bornauw, this must be a difficult time. Bijol is frustrated ahead of him in the pecking order, so what must Bornauw be thinking? It is only a few months after his £5m move from Wolfsburg.
Yet, a four-time Belgium international, Bornauw has only featured in the Carabao Cup and looks like he will struggle to get anywhere near the starting XI for months to come. He might already regret his move.
Daniel Farke has wanted to sign Sebastiaan Bornauw for years
During his time at Norwich, Farke was linked with signing Bornauw. In 2021, Bornauw shared how Norwich wanted to sign him after Farke secured promotion for the second time, but he joined Wolfsburg.
Well, after years of earning an admiring glance from Farke, Bornauw will surely be thinking he’s made the wrong decision to join Leeds. It’s not as if he is on the fringes and deserves game time in a Leeds shirt.
But it is that he is so far away from getting any kind of Premier League game time at Elland Road. The chances are, that Bijol will be frustrated at Burnley and if he’s frustrated, what hope is there for Bornauw.
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