Leeds United have endured a solid start to their 2023/24 campaign under new manager – Daniel Farke – but as is normally the case, things are not perfect at Elland Road currently and as a result, changes can still be made to improve the team. The Lily Whites look set to be competing for a place in the play-offs with the top two sides – Leicester City and Ipswich Town – already looking out of sight, but that doesn’t mean an instant return to the Premier League is out of the question.
While the first couple of weeks in the Championship were a struggle for Farke’s team, they have really picked up their form and found a rhythm to their game. It may have been a case of adapting to the manager’s style of play, but could also be down to the significant changes that have taken place in the Leeds playing staff ranks.
Although as already mentioned, there is always room for improvement, and we have decided to put forward three players that could be taken out of the starting line-up for the benefit of themselves and the team, while also noting that none of these players have played badly at all so far this season.
Daniel James
It is already five years since Dan James burst onto the Premier League scene with an opening day goal for Manchester United against Chelsea in a 4-0 win. This looked to be the start of an emerging young Welsh player’s career at the top level as James would then go on to score a wonderful goal against Crystal Palace, although he did perhaps celebrate the equaliser a bit too much.
In the years that have followed, it hasn’t been quite as plain sailing as the winger would have hoped as he only managed to stay at Old Trafford for two seasons before being moved on to Leeds for a fee of £25 million which took many by surprise as he had found himself spiralling down the pecking order over the 24 months he spent in Manchester.
Having only scored five times in his first season in Yorkshire, James was loaned out to Fulham during the 2022/23 season and has just returned to Leeds in the summer of 2023 to help their pursuit of Premier League football. Farke has been giving James regular game time, starting him in seven of his first nine league games. The Wales international has been far from poor with some very strong performances in the second tier of English football but in recent weeks, that level has dropped at times.
Showing some of the reason Man United fans grew frustrated with the pacey forward, James is a very hit or miss player at the moment as he is yet to find his feet consistently, something he should have really got the hang of at the age of 25-years-old in the Championship if he had plans to make it as a regular part of a Premier League side.
