Leeds United were very busy during the summer transfer window as manager Daniel Farke had to deal with plenty of players moving in and out of Elland Road.
Crysencio Summerville, Archie Gray, Glen Kamara, and Georginio Rutter were among the stars who left on permanent deals, as they went in pursuit of top-flight football.
That allowed the West Yorkshire outfit to bolster their squad with the likes of Isaac Schmidt, Ao Tanaka, Joe Rodon, Largie Ramazani, and Manor Solomon, among others.
No summer transfer window, though, can cover you for all eventualities and Leeds have found that out the hard way as they have lost their two first-choice central midfielders to long-term injuries.
Captain Ethan Ampadu suffered a knee injury in the first-half of the win over Coventry and it has been confirmed that he will be out of action until January.
Days later, Bulgaria international Ilia Gruev went off in the first-half against Norwich City at Carrow Road and he is now set for months on the sideline with a knee injury.
Tanaka and Joe Rothwell were tasked with taking control of the game at the Stadium of Light as Leeds were held to a 2-2 draw by Sunderland on Friday.
Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka’s performances against Sunderland
They look set to be the first-choice midfield pairing for the forseeable future, after the injuries to Gruev and Ampadu, and had mixed success against the Black Cats.
They are both similar types of midfielders in the sense that they are slight in frame and would rather be in possession and passing the ball around, than out of possession and competing in duels with opposition players.
Rothwell and Tanaka both provide a metronomic presence in the middle of the park for Leeds, as they both completed at least 90% of their attempted passes against Sunderland, but they are not particularly combative.
|
Vs Sunderland |
Ao Tanaka |
Joe Rothwell |
|---|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
90 |
90 |
|
Pass accuracy |
96% |
90% |
|
Key passes |
1 |
1 |
|
Duels won |
2/7 |
2/3 |
|
Tackles won |
1 |
1 |
As you can see in the table above, they both played the full 90 minutes on Wearside and combined for two tackles won and four duels won in midfield.
Whereas, Gruev and Ampadu have combined for 4.9 tackles and 9.6 duels won per game in the Championship so far this season, which suggests that their replacements are yet to show that they can be as effective out of possession.
Farke could, however, ease the latest blow of losing Gruev for months by dipping into the academy once again to unleash Charlie Crew, a defensive midfielder, in the first-team.
Why Charlie Crew should be unleashed
Firstly, the 18-year-old starlet has clearly already caught the eye of the manager as he has been on the bench in seven matches in all competitions this season.
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This shows that the German head coach believes that the Welshman is ready to be involved in the first-team, albeit not with an appearance as of yet, by being with the squad and on the bench on matchdays in the Championship.
In April of this year, at the EFL awards, Summerville told supporters to “look out” for Crew coming through the ranks as the next star to emerge from the academy, describing him as a “really good” midfielder.
Gray echoed that sentiment by hailing the teenage whiz as a “really good” player and revealed that the Wales international had already been training with the first-team for a few weeks.
His incredible potential was underlined by Wales handing him his senior debut at international level, against Gibraltar in June. He came on for the final 12 minutes and contributed with one tackle and one key pass in his limited time on the pitch.
The former Cardiff City youngster, who has played 26 times for Leeds’ U21s, has shown that he has the potential to be the next star to come from the academy, as he has impressed his national team coaches, Gray, Summerville, and Farke at such a young age.
It is now down to the manager to be brave, as he was with Gray and has been with Mateo Joseph this season, and unleash Crew from the start – alongside either Tanaka or Rothwell – to provide a natural number six, who can cut out opposition attacks, next to a ball-playing metronome.
If the 18-year-old enforcer can then make the step-up to first-team level and produce quality performances as a ball-winner in the middle of the park, that could ease the blow of losing Gruev for months with a knee injury.
Why losing Ilia Gruev is a blow
The long-term absence of the former Werder Bremen star is a blow for the West Yorkshire outfit because he has proven himself to be a very capable performer at Championship level since the start of last season.
In the 2023/24 campaign, Gruev played in 29 of the club’s 46 regular season matches and made 2.5 tackles and interceptions combined per match, along with a pass completion rate of 92%.
The Bulgaria international also won 56% of his duels, including 65% of his aerial battles, and this shows that he held his own in physical contests in the middle of the park.
These statistics show that Gruev offered calmness and reliability in possession whilst also being combative and a ball-winner off the ball, to help Leeds at both sides of the game.
|
24/25 Championship |
Ilia Gruev |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
8 |
|
Pass accuracy |
90% |
|
Key passes per game |
1.8 |
|
Tackles won per game |
2.3 |
|
Interceptions per game |
1.3 |
|
Duel success rate |
50% |
As you can see in the table above, the left-footed whiz enjoyed a terrific start to the current campaign before his knee injury against Norwich earlier this month.
The Bulgarian star made 3.6 tackles and interceptions per game, 1.1 more per match than last season, and created almost two chances per outing on average.
These statistics illustrate how much of a blow it is to lose the midfielder for a significant period of time but Farke could ease that blow by providing Crew with a chance to make his senior breakthrough, alongside a more cultured midfielder in Tanaka or Rothwell.
