Harry Wilson became Leeds United’s first signing of the summer earlier this week.
United managed to fend off competition from multiple other clubs to secure the winger on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract at Fulham.
So after just missing out on him last summer, the 49ers can finally breathe a sigh of relief now that they have Wilson through the door.
But following his arrival in West Yorkshire, Daniel Farke cannot afford to make one costly mistake.
Daniel Farke should not ditch three at the back following Harry Wilson’s arrival
It’s been spoken about to death at this point. But when we switched to the three at the back formation last season, we went from a side who looked a certainty to go down, to one who looked like a comfortable mid-table side who were never under any threat of relegation.
But with Wilson dramatically increasing our quality in the right-wing position, I feel as though Farke will be tempted to revert to a four at the back, with Wilson and Noah Okafor out wide.
This was confirmed by Beren Cross in a recent article for The Athletic. Wilson revealed that Farke told him about his preference to revert to a four-at-the-back formation next season. With the emphasis being back on dominating the ball and pressing high.
For the life of me, I can’t understand why Farke would do this. We found a winning formula last season, so why would we throw it all out the window?
Wilson would work perfectly in the 3-4-2-1 formation we played last season, where he could operate out on the right behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
In this formation, we could still dominate the ball against lesser opposition and press high when needed. As we proved time and again last season.
Wilson is also capable of drifting into midfield to make it a three when needed. Similar to how Brenden Aaronson did so often last season.
Switching to the four at the back could cost Daniel Farke his job
If we do switch to a 4-3-3, let’s say next season, it could ultimately cost Farke his job.
Many players benefited massively from switching to the three at the back. So I don’t see why Farke seemingly looks down on that particular system.
Gabriel Gudmundsson looked far better for us as a wing-back compared to a full-back. Whilst Jaka Bijol evidently did not look as good when he was part of a four-man defence as opposed to a five.
These are just a few examples of players we could potentially be hindering by switching to a back four.
It’s not Wilson’s fault. It’s just the fact that he improves our squad so significantly that it has seemingly given Farke extra confidence that we can open up more next season.
A 4-3-3 should certainly be an option for us next season, especially when chasing games. But I don’t think Farke should try to fix what is evidently not broken.
Switching systems after the success we enjoyed during the second half of last season is a major risk. If this risk ultimately backfires, the 49ers are well within their rights to question why Farke has moved away from a formation that served him so well.
Perhaps we will set up according to our opposition next season. Which I wouldn’t be totally against, but if this gamble does not pay off, Leeds could find themselves searching for a new manager by the time Christmas comes around.
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