It was a proverbial game of two halves for Leeds United at Queens Park Rangers. Arguably nobody summed that up better than the midfield duo of Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell.
If he could turn back the clock to Saturday morning, ahead of the 12:30 kick-off at Loftus Road, an ‘unhappy’ Daniel Farke would have started Ilia Gruev instead.
Farke has spoken about Gruev’s importance for Leeds. Particularly in away fixtures, when the Championship table-toppers face more attack-minded opposition.
The Bulgarian missed out, however, as Leeds United struggled to cope against a physical, fired-up QPR side who took a 2-0 lead after just 30 minutes.
Much to Farke’s relief, Tanaka and Rothwell grew into proceedings, giving half-time substitute Willy Gnonto the freedom he needed to help turn the tide in the visitor’s favour.
“Thank God, Ao and Joe were much more on it than in the first-half,” Farke sighed. “This allowed [more freedom for] Willy, in a new position for him. He has played in this position a few times for us but not that successfully so far.
“Today, I think he was really good.”
Talking about standout performances, ofter a week in which questions were asked of Leeds’ physicality and aggression for the first time in a while, a player reportedly in talks over a summer move to Elland Road produced the kind of all-action, ball-winning masterclass Farke really could have done with at Loftus Road.
Photo by Seskim Photo/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Seskim Photo/MB Media/Getty Images
Super Lig star Anthony Dennis shows why Leeds United like him
According to reports coming out of Turkey, Leeds United opened talks with Goztepe regarding Anthony Dennis. The £4.2 million-rated, 20-year-old Nigerian who sits at the base of the midfield and provides some of the best defensive midfielder stats in the whole of the Super Lig.
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Goztepe held Eyupspor – try reading that without a Yorkshire accent by the way – to a 1-1 draw on Sunday. And, in doing so, Dennis went into overdrive.
The second young Nigerian to attract interest from Elland Road [Leeds look set to sign the exciting Leonard Ngenge], Dennis has been likened to the iconic N’Golo Kante. Probably the best ball-winning enforcer of his generation.
“If they have N’golo Kante, we have Anthony Dennis,” one Goztepe fan site wrote on Istagram upon the turn of the year.
It’s pretty clear to see why.
On the front foot throughout, Dennis won the ball back a league-high total of nine times in the Eyupspor half this weekend. Against a team coached by former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid playmaker Arda Turan, Goztepe set about disrupting their possession-heavy rhythm as Dennis slammed into them like a one-man wrecking ball.
Dennis could be Leeds’ Tyler Adams replacement
Daniel Farke is a coach who likes to press high, if not recklessly. Dennis, still only 20, certainly has the makings of a footballer well suited to a Farke midfield, at least out of possession.
On the ball, he completes fewer than 80 per cent of his passes, compared to Tanaka’s 89 per cent. That is where the most obvious improvements can be made.
But presuming that Leeds will need to adapt to a more reactive gameplan if promotion is secured, a tough-tackling terrier of a midfielder in the shape of Anthony Dennis could come in very useful. Comparisons with a young N’Golo Kante make sense.
For Leeds, the more pertinent comparison could be with Tyler Adams.
Per Sporx, Dennis is ‘the dynamo’ of Goztepe’s midfield. Not only that but also ‘the most aggressive player in the league’, owing to his tally of eight yellow cards.
Dennis’ timing could use some work. But the raw materials required to cook up a Michelin star defensive midfielder are most certainly there.