Max Wober (Credit: Imago)
Over the summer, the 49ers recruited excellently for the most part with the resources at their disposal to give Leeds United a fighting chance of staying in the Premier League.
New signings like Gabriel Gudmundsson, Anton Stach and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are all core pillars of a United side who currently sit in 15th, four points above the drop zone with seven games left to play.
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It is hard to imagine Daniel Farke’s side without these key players, who have made such a massive impact at Elland Road despite having short tenures in West Yorkshire up to this point.
However, the 49ers’ inability to raise funds through selling players at the right time is alarming for Leeds, particularly when considering the latest update regarding one of their players who finds himself out on loan.
Max Wober withdraws from Austria camp due to injury
Wober, 28, featured just eight times last season during Leeds’ Championship-winning campaign, for a total of 349 minutes after returning from a loan spell at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Over the summer, although it was clear that Wober had no future at Leeds, the decision was made to loan the defender out again, this time to Werder Bremen, but it is a decision that has completley backfired.
Instead of just cutting ties with Wober and receiving a fee for him when they had the chance, they will now likely be stuck with the defender again, with Wober featuring just one time for Werder Bremen all season.
The Leeds loanee recently linked up with his national side, Austria, but according to Salzburger Nachrichten, Wober was forced to withdraw due to persistent muscle issues.
Wober was not expected to feature in Austria’s friendly against South Korea; however, this fresh injury update just makes it even more unlikely that Werder Bremen will trigger their buy option of around £3.5million for Wober this summer.
READ MORE: 49ers must stand firm as transfer interest in ‘vital’ Leeds United star emerges – The Leeds Press
Leeds secured massive upgrades on Max Wober in the summer
Despite being a centre back by trade, Farke deployed Wober at left-back more often than not when the Austrian featured for the Whites in the Championship.
Nowadays, Leeds no longer have to shoehorn centre-backs into the left-back or left-wing back position, with the aforementioned Gudmundsson and James Justin both excelling in that position for the Whites this season.
Gudmundsson, in particular, has impressed, with the Swede featuring 29 times so far for Leeds in the Premier League this season.
Despite not registering a goal or assist, Gudmundsson has constantly provided an attacking threat down the left flank for Leeds this season
The defender averages around 2.1 tackles per game, as well as 2.6 clearances
He also gets the better of his opposition in his duels more often than not, partaking in 5.6 per game and winning 54% of them (Sofascore)
Given how Gudmundsson has nailed down the position at Elland Road, the pathway for minutes for Wober at Leeds has just become even more impossible should he return to West Yorkshire, and that is exactly why the 49ers should have sanctioned his sale last summer.
READ MORE:£26m-rated star issues honest response when asked directly about Leeds United links – The Leeds Press