Leeds boss Daniel Farke can only dream of the same level of influence the great Sir Alex Ferguson wielded over Football Association in his Manchester United heyday.
As former Red Devil Nicky Butt would explain, Ferguson often encouraged Man United’s stars to drop out of international duty in order to keep them fresh for their club commitments.
Unfortunately for the man in the Elland Road dugout, situated on the other side of the Pennines, Daniel Farke ‘sadly’ has no such power.
“I hope the lads involved in international games will come through without injuries,” Farke admitted on Thursday, speaking ahead of Leeds United’s trip to Queens Park Rangers in Saturday’s early kick-off.
“Sadly, the days of Sir Alex Ferguson are over, who could just call the national team managers and say; ‘No, no, listen I keep my players’. Sadly, I can’t do this.
“I can ask carefully sometimes for a little bit of help but, yeah, the days that you could just resist sending your players are sadly over.”
It will be an anxious few days for Farke, then. The Leeds boss praying his star men come through the March international break unscathed.
Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images
Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images
Leeds United stars set for international duty but Belgium leave out Largie Ramazani
Brenden Aaronson lost his place in the USA set-up. Ironically, ousted by the Leeds-linked Diego Luna.
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But Joe Rodon, Dan James, Manor Solomon, Largie Ramazani and Ao Tanaka are all likely to be earning plenty of air miles over the coming weeks. Isaac Schmidt is reportedly in line for a maiden Switzerland call-up too.
One player who will be staying back at Thorp Arch, however, is Largie Ramazani.
On Friday, new Belgium boss Rudi Garcia revealed his first squad since taking the reigns from Roberto Martinez. Among the familiar crop of Romelu Lukaku, Thomas Meunier, Youri Tielemans and Kevin de Bruyne were three new faces. Ramazani, though, was not among them.
While Rangers enforcer Nico Raskin and Genk captain Bryan Heynen got the nod, alongside 17-year-old Ajax starlet Jorthy Mokio, Ramazani’s wait for a senior call-up goes on.
Often, going from a top European league to a second-tier side tends to have a negative effect on your standing in the game. But when Ramazani left relegated Almeria for the giants of Leeds United – two points clear now at the top of the Championship table – the £10 million summer signing would have done so hoping that such a switch would light the fuse under his international career.
Ramazani is 24 years of age now, after all. A man with eight caps for Belgium’s Under-23 side is no longer eligible for youth-team action.
Yet, it appears that despite a promising first season at Leeds, he is still a long way off the senior squad as well.
Belgium unveil uber-talented frontline as Ramazani faces Manor Solomon battle
Among the picks for former Roma, Marseille and Lyon coach Garcia were Charles de Ketelaere, Jeremy Doku, Malik Fofana, Dodi Lukebakio, Lois Openda, Leandro Trossard and Alexis Saelemaekers.
This is not quite the so-called ‘Golden Generation’ of yesteryear. There are no Eden Hazards these days.
But Doku is a semi-regular starter for Man City. Ditto Trossard at Arsenal. Fofana has been a revelation at Lyon. Lukebakio is Sevilla’s brightest spark. Openda remains fairly prolific at RB Leipzig. Saelemaekers of Roma brings vast experience and versatility.
Leeds tried to sign Charles de Ketelaere from Club Brugge a few years back. Now, the silky playmaker is a driving force behind Atalanta’s Serie A bid.
With Ramazani in and out of the Leeds XI – his four Championship goals have come in just seven starts – the Manchester United academy graduate must first look to cement his place in Farke’s selection before he can realistically dream about taking the next step internationally.
And that is easier said than done. Manor Solomon is keen to stay at Leeds United. The Tottenham loanee is currently the biggest obstacle standing in Ramazani’s way at Elland Road too.
Premier League football next season with Leeds will do Ramazani’s hopes no harm ahead of the 2026 World Cup, of course.
But if he hoped that a new manager in the Belgium hotseat would open the door to a Rote Duivels spot, the array of talent still ahead of him in Rudi Garcia’s pecking order is a brutal reminder of how much work is still to be done.