Leeds United take on Manchester United this Monday with an injury-hit squad. That could present an opportunity to Facundo Buonanotte.
With just seven games left in the Premier League, Daniel Farke knows that his side can’t afford to trudge over the line. Wins are needed to keep us out of the bottom three in May.
Up next is probably our toughest remaining game on paper, a trip to Manchester United. Michael Carrick’s side are aiming to cement their place in the Champions League places.
How can Daniel Farke respond to mammoth Leeds United injury crisis?
The main takeaway from Farke’s pre-match press conference was the injury crisis he revealed ahead of our visit to Old Trafford.
Anton Stach and Joe Rodon have identical ankle ligament damage, likely ruling them out until May. Dan James is a third confirmed absentee with an adductor issue.
On top of that, there are three doubts for the game as Jaka Bijol and Noah Okafor sat out of training this week. Gabriel Gudmundsson did return to training and could feature, but Farke still labeled the Swede as a doubt.
It leaves the Leeds boss needing solutions both in his lineup and on the bench. At centre-back, you’d anticipate Sebastiaan Bornauw and James Justin are called upon. Higher up the pitch, Ao Tanaka surely gets his chance after an FA Cup masterclass and Stach’s absence.
Could Facundo Buonanotte feature at Old Trafford for Leeds United?
Almost completely forgotten by many fans, January loan signing Facundo Buonanotte could be thrust into involvement this month. The lack of depth Leeds suddenly have means the Argentine has his chance to work his way back into Farke’s reckoning.
After recently stating the Brighton loanee has worked hard in training, Farke again acknowledged Buonanotte’s chance to shine from hereon.
“Similar to Ao. I like what he’s done in the last few weeks,” Farke said, via the YEP. “Spoken with him and told him we’re all happy with training.
“Also close to making it into the squad even with many players fit for West Ham. Perhaps a chance with a few injuries but the solution is to deliver with consistency in training. Has to do it over a few weeks. He’s edged closer but Willy Gnonto is training well, good that Noah Okafor was fit so also lots of competition. Brenden Aaronson played many minutes so it’s not easy to get into the squad. Solution is always to keep going.”
Leeds United could do with getting some use out of Facundo Buonanotte
When we signed Buonanotte from Brighton in January, I was really excited to see if we could finally make use of this ‘missing piece’ signing.
He’s got the talent and end product to change games for us. But, his decision to join Chelsea instead in August has hampered his entire season. We all saw how desperately unfit he looked at Birmingham. In turn, Farke can’t afford to risk getting him up to speed in must-win games.
That being said, the way Farke’s spoke about him of late does suggest he’ll be back in contention this Monday and for the following games.
If he can even produce one big performance to win us a match before the season’s over, he’ll have been worth it.
0% Love 0% Funny 0% Wow 0% Sad 0% Angry
Post navigation