‘To be honest’… Ilia Gruev gives raw reaction to Leeds United signing two midfielders

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Leeds United have been busy on the transfer front in terms of bringing in midfield options.

Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff have entered the frame and brought a whole new plan for Daniel Farke.

Leeds can now line up in many different ways, as Ao Tanaka and Ethan Ampadu can also help balance out the middle of the park.

But where does that leave Ilia Gruev?

Gruev said he’ll fight for his place as the 49ers bring in this midfield overhaul, but now that Stach and Longstaff are finally here, this is how he truly feels.

Ilia Gruev’s reaction to Leeds United midfield overhaul

£35m has been spent on the midfielders coming in, and now Leeds’ most important area looks Premier League-ready.

It doesn’t appear that Gruev is going anywhere in this moment, as the Bulgarian has still proven useful to Farke over his two years at the club.

But with the 25-year-old likely to be fifth choice in the pecking order, it doesn’t bode well for his fortunes at Elland Road.

Despite his willingness to stay, Leeds fans think Gruev’s tenure is over, and now the midfielder has come out and said what he really thinks.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Gruev explained what this means for him at Leeds now that there is clear added improvement.

“Not a lot, to be honest,” Gruev said.

“It’s normal that you sign good players, also in your position, because we need a lot of good players, and it’s the Premier League. So it doesn’t matter which team you play for, you will have to handle competition.

“It’s quite normal, and so it’s not going around too much in my head when I see some new players coming.”

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Gruev showed his worth for Leeds in Man United draw

With the Bulgarian engine just biding his time in Yorkshire, an exit seems very unlikely.

Farke clearly trusts the midfielder, as after handing him just 23 appearances last season, he’s still a part of the German’s plans.

Gruev still thinks he’ll get better and judging by the pre-season opener in Leeds’ 0-0 draw with Man United, he certainly proved his worth.

To play like this against the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro is very impressive and more performances like this through pre-season could get Farke thinking.

Going back to his trust in Gruev, the 25-year-old, along with Tanaka, were the only players who played more than 45 minutes.

Farke says Gruev is Leeds’ best runner and despite the competition, you can see Gruev isn’t going down without a fight.