Jesse Marsch is expected to ring the changes on Wednesday night when Leeds United travel to face Wolves in the third round of the Carabao Cup. The Whites have expressed their desire to enjoy a cup run this season and while Marsch will shuffle his pack, he’ll name a side that he believes is capable of securing progression at Molineux.
The likes of Luke Ayling, Mateusz Klich and Joe Gelhardt, who have struggled for minutes, will likely be given game time against the Midlands outfit, while Saturday’s heroes Sam Greenwood and Wilfried Gnonto may also be seen. However, the head coach could be tempted to hand some of the club’s U21s stars a chance in the first-team, too.
Michael Skubala’s youngsters saw off Newcastle United 4-2 at Thorp Arch on Monday afternoon but his selection appeared to provide a large hint regarding Marsch’s cup plans. Here’s a look at the four youngsters that could be involved against Wolves.
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Mateo Joseph
The striker has been the U21s’ stand out player this season, bagging 12 goals in all competitions and captaining Skubala’s side the top of the Premier League 2 Division 2 table. Joseph bagged three goals in his last league outing for the youth side at Middlesbrough and that form has seen him move into the first-team picture over the last couple of weeks.
While he is still waiting to make his bow for the club, Joseph travelled with the squad to Liverpool last month and he was named on the bench for the very first time on Saturday for the Bournemouth game. However, the fact that he was left out of Monday’s youth team game against Newcastle suggests he could be closing in on a senior debut.
He’s unlikely to start the game against the Premier League strugglers, but Marsch may be keen to give him a chance off the bench.
Darko Gyabi
Like Joseph, Gyabi was conspicuous by his absence on Monday afternoon. The 18-year-old has been involved in every U21s fixture this season, but wasn’t involved at all against the Magpies and that seemed to provide a clear indication of Marsch’s plans.
Gyabi has more than looked the part for the Whites since making the summer move from Manchester City, oozing class and confidence in his performances. His only goal so far has come against Nottingham Forest, but he’s had a key role to play in every game he has played so far this season.
The England U19 international has been an unused substitute on three separate occasions under Marsch, but having seen him closely in training, he’ll be keen to give Gyabi a chance sooner rather than later. Wednesday’s game might just provide the perfect opportunity to hand give him a run out.
Sonny Perkins
Perkins made a lot of headlines earlier in the season after a run of 13 goals in 10 games for club and country, bagging at least one in each of his first seven appearance in a Leeds shirt following his summer move from West Ham United. The striker was involved against Newcastle on Monday, but, for the first time this season, he started the game on a bench.
Perkins did eventually get onto the field in the 78 th minute, but he couldn’t make much of an impact with Leeds 4-2 up by that point and cruising towards victory. Marsch gave a nod to both Perkins and Joseph when speaking to the press after Saturday’s game, underlining how highly the pair are rated and fans shouldn’t be surprised to see Perkins named on the bench at Molineux.
Cody Drameh
Of course, Drameh wouldn’t be making his Leeds bow if he were to get the nod, having featured on a couple of occasions this season already. He hasn’t had a look in since Luke Ayling regained full fitness, though, and consequently he has dropped down into the U21s side over the last couple of months.
He’s been one of Skubala’s best and it seems likely that Drameh could push for a loan move away in January to pick up more senior minutes. However, he played just 60 minutes on Monday afternoon before being replaced by Cian Coleman and that change could have been made with Wednesday night in mind.
The 20-year-old more than deserves another first-team shot and he could have a role to play against Julen Lopetegui’s side.
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