LEEDS, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 16: Detail view of the Leeds United club badge on the corner flag prior to the Premier League match between Leeds United and Newcastle United at Elland Road on December 16, 2020 in Leeds, England.The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Rui Vieira - Pool/Getty Images)
Daniel Farke is plotting to win promotion from the Championship at the second time of asking after his Leeds United side fell short at the final hurdle last season.
The Whites were beaten 1-0 by Southampton in the play-off final at Wembley and have started the current campaign with two wins and two draws from their first four matches.
Farke has never gone more than two seasons without winning promotion from the Championship, after winning the division two times in three campaigns during his time with Norwich City.
The German head coach will be hoping to maintain that impressive record by helping his team to fire their way back to the Premier League this term, with the likes of Wilfried Gnonto and Mateo Joseph spearheading the attack.
Ethan Ampadu is captaining the side at the base of the midfield and has started all 50 of Farke’s regular Championship matches since the start of last season.
The manager clearly trusts the defensive midfielder and the player in his position was also crucial the last time that Leeds won promotion to the Premier League, as Kalvin Phillips was developed into a fantastic asset for the Whites under Marcelo Bielsa.
Kalvin Phillips’ value when Marcelo Bielsa arrived
The Argentine head coach was appointed in the summer of 2018 and the academy graduate had already played two full seasons of Championship football.
Phillips had racked up 33 appearances during the 2016/17 campaign and 41 in the 2017/18 season before Bielsa was brought to Elland Road.
After those two campaigns, Transfermarkt placed his market value at €5m (£4.2m) from February 2018 to September 2018, which covers the time of the manager’s arrival.
The central midfielder had already established himself as a regular in the middle of the park for Leeds after coming up through the academy set-up at Thorp Arch, as shown by his 74 Championship games in the previous two seasons.
Bielsa, though, was able to take Phillips to the next level. The English ace later admitted that he “wasn’t the best” when the Argentine coach came through the door and that his and his staff’s coaching “helped a lot”.
It was revealed that the players were made to train at 100% every day and that they were also made to watch videos of their performances to see where they went wrong and how to improve.
