Adam Forshaw knows he has a fight on his hands if he is to nail down a spot in Jesse Marsch’s Leeds United side this season. The midfielder watched on this summer as the club added talent and depth to their midfield ranks with the signings of Tyler Adams, Marc Roca and Darko Gyabi.
The trio are all expected to fight for a spot in the middle of the park alongside Forshaw, who is back to full fitness after fracturing his kneecap in April, just before the last season's gruelling Premier League run-in started to gather pace. The 30-year-old has been impressed by the business done by the Whites this summer, with Brenden Aaronson, Luis Sinisterra and Rasmus Kristensen adding quality elsewhere on the field, too.
However, he’s also been relishing the extra competition provided by those new recruits.
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“You have your own drive and you want to play games anyway, but competition is healthy and it will bring the best out of people,” Forshaw said while on the club’s tour of Australia. “We’re going to have a bigger squad this season, already we can see that. I think the manager will rotate a little bit more but it’s up to everyone to try and make themselves a mainstay in the team. Ultimately, we all have the same goal.
“For a club to their business so early and not wait until later in the window is great. The lads that have come in, the majority of them know exactly how Jesse wants to play and they’re very clued in with the counter-pressing, the formation and style. A lot of them have hit the ground running and they’re good lads as well.
“It brings out the best in you. Not me personally but you could feel comfortable if you didn’t have someone behind you or someone fighting for the same position.
“I’m happy to be fit and I’m trying to do exactly what the manager wants me to do. I’m a team player and I try to contribute as much as I can. I want to play, I want to have an injury-free season and hopefully we can all have a successful one.”
Forshaw has been unfortunate with injuries over the last few years, with his fractured kneecap coming less than a year after his return from a long-lasting hip problem. However, the midfielder is fit again and he’s impressed with his performances Down Under, with appearances coming against Brisbane Roar and Aston Villa in Queensland.
“It was a freak accident unfortunately,” Forshaw added on his fractured kneecap. “I just went in to win the ball against (Robin) Koch and I ran into the wrong man unfortunately. I was lucky it was a clean fracture and no surgery required. I came back and I’m starting to feel pretty good again.
“Of all the injuries I’ve had it was probably the worst for pain. It was sore but it’s part and parcel of the way the manager wants us to play as a midfielder. He wants us to counter-press, be in there to win the ball and it’s a part of my game, so sometimes I am susceptible to picking up injuries unfortunately.”
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