Daniel Farke is expected to make changes this evening as Leeds United travel to face Salford City in the second round of the EFL Cup. Here’s five fringe players who will have points to prove should they be involved at the Peninsula Stadium.
Cody Drameh
Drameh won’t be keen to look back on Saturday afternoon’s showing at Portman Road any time soon. The youngster was called upon to come on for Sam Byram at left-back after just 24 minutes due to injury, but he struggled to settle away from his natural right-back position.
Mistakes proved to be costly before the break and before the second half got underway, the decision was made to replace Drameh with Jamie Shackleton, who provided more stability in the role after the break. Farke did his best to defend Drameh in his post-match interview and he will be tempted to hand Drameh an immediate chance to redeem himself at the Peninsula Stadium.
Should he replace Luke Ayling at right-back, Drameh will be determined to set the record straight and put that wretched showing against Ipswich by proving a point as he strives to pick up the game time he craves moving forward.
Leo Hjelde
Hjelde knows the feeling of being hooked at the interval all too well. The defender was the subject of Farke’s ruthlessness during the opening weekend of the season as he lasted just 45 minutes on the field against Cardiff City at left-back.
And, Farke felt it was necessary to repeat the feat against Shrewsbury Town in the first round of the EFL Cup, too, making the decision to replace the Norwegian at left-back at the break. Hjelde hasn’t been seen in a Leeds shirt since, but tonight’s clash seems to be the perfect opportunity to give him a run out in his preferred left centre-back role.
Of course, Hjelde can’t be at his most confident right now, but another chance might just allow him to shrug those early substitutions off and show that he can have a role to play for the Whites this season moving forward.
Darko Gyabi
Like the above two names, Gyabi has been brought off at half-time by Farke this season, suffering that fate after a difficult first half showing against Shrewsbury in the cup. Gyabi, who oozed confidence in the U21s set up last season, looked so short of it against the League One side and couldn’t settle into the contest.
He might be given another chance to prove himself at a first-team level tonight and show that he is capable of holding down a place within Farke’s senior group. The Whites are pushing to bring in midfielders this week, with several names being linked, and if Gyabi can’t showcase his best against the Ammies, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a loan move considered for the 19-year-old, depending on who does eventually come through the door, of course.
Joe Gelhardt
Gelhardt probably hasn’t started the new season in the way he would have hoped under Farke. The striker found the back of the net against Shrewsbury, in somewhat fortuitous circumstances, but his league outings haven’t seen him kick on and with Joel Piroe arriving and Patrick Bamford on his way back to full fitness, the youngster might just find game time hard to come by moving forward.
Leave a Reply