Leeds’ January decision on Cresswell surely now made for them

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With Leeds United conceding seven goals in their final two games before the World Cup break, some may be tempted to suggest that Jesse Marsch looks at his centre-back options going into January.

Robin Koch has done reasonably well this season. Meanwhile, it is always difficult to know for certain what we will get from Liam Cooper or Diego Llorente. And Pascal Struijk can probably not move back into centre-back until we sign another left-back.

One option which will have been discussed amongst supporters over the last few months is recalling Charlie Cresswell from his loan spell at Millwall in January and giving him a proper run in the first-team.

Leeds need to leave Cresswell out on loan

Cresswell had absolutely nothing left to prove in the youth ranks. And he had generally been ‘excellent‘ whenever he got a chance for the first-team. He marked his Premier League debut with a man of the match display against West Ham.

So it was a little surprising when he was loaned out in the summer. And that confusion only increased when he scored twice on his debut at the Den.

Cresswell looks to be the kind of player who will find a way to deal with any challenge put in front of him. So recalling him in January may have represented a smart way to make the most of whatever budget we have to work with.

However, based on his display at the weekend, it does appear that it would be too soon to bring Cresswell back into the fold.

Millwall were soundly beaten 3-0 by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. And Cresswell, unfortunately, made errors before two of the goals.

The first saw the 20-year-old give away possession with a heavy touch – though Sunderland still had plenty to do.

Meanwhile, the exclamation point on the win came in stoppage-time. Cresswell misjudged a long ball and that allowed Ellis Simms in to round the goalkeeper.

Cresswell has had an interesting time on loan. Millwall kept two clean sheets in their previous three games. And Cresswell had scored in the other game. But, before that, he spent four games out of the squad altogether.

Cresswell is too good a talent to let a difficult day at the office get to him. There remains little doubt that he is destined for the highest level.

However, Leeds remain in a precarious position in the Premier League. So bringing him back in January may ultimately not do Cresswell any favours.