Your Leeds United headlines for Friday, May 6.
'You get the frustration' - Cresswell agent
Charlie Cresswell’s agent wants his client to start playing more football 'soon' amid a lack of first-team opportunities at Elland Road. Despite impressing for the U23s this season, the centre-back has seen limited game time despite Leeds’ defensive woes.
The Whites’ precarious league position has made it difficult to blood an inexperienced defender into the side, with the club well-stocked in the centre-back position. While Hayden Evans - Cresswell’s agent - understands the quality ahead of the 19-year-old, he also is calling for talks in the summer.
Read more: Leeds United's Man City experiment would test Marsch's appetite for blooding youths at Arsenal
Speaking on the Leeds That Podcast, he said: “You get the frustration of certain fans who say ‘if they’re good enough they’re old enough’ and they should be given opportunities, but there is a reasonable understanding about why he’s not getting the minutes when you see who is in front of him.
“But he has to get more football soon, we’ll have the usual conversations in the summer and see where it goes from there.”
Merson backs Leeds loss
Paul Merson is predicting a hard-fought win for his former side against Leeds this weekend. The former Arsenal man admits he thought the Whites were safe a few weeks ago after winning three out of four at the end of March and early April.
However, the resurgence of Burnley and two unlikely wins for Everton has dragged Jesse Marsch’s men back into the dogfight - a circumstance Merson thinks will make life difficult for Arsenal.
In his SportsKeeda column, he wrote: “Four weeks ago, you’d have looked at this fixture and thought what a good game for Arsenal as Leeds looked safe.
“Now that they are set to play against a team that is fighting for survival, this will be an interesting game. Leeds lost 4-0 against Manchester City, but they produced a lot of good moments in that game and could have probably got a positive result if they took their chances.
“All things considered, Arsenal are a better team and should win this game to get closer to securing a place in the Premier League top four.”
Cork confession
Jack Cork has admitted Burnley “are not favourites” to beat the drop despite a recent run of form. Since Sean Dyche’s sacking, the Clarets are unbeaten - winning three and drawing one - making them the in-form side in the relegation battle.
A dramatic comeback victory against Watford last weekend lifted them out of the bottom three, with Everton’s shock win against Chelsea also spelling bad news for Leeds. Burnley midfielder Cork believes the stature of his side makes them underdogs in the survival race.
“Everything feels good at the moment but we’ve got a lot of work to do,” he told The Burnley Express. “Everton are chasing us, Leeds are behind us now, they’re not going to give up, they’re massive clubs and we need to keep pushing to the end.
“They will pick up points so we’ve got to be right on it in the last few games. It’s not a comfortable cushion, it’s going to go right to the end, there’ll be a lot more ups and downs I think.
“Everton have a game in hand on us, with the size of the clubs I’d probably say we aren’t (favourites), but we’ve got a little cushion, but football changes so quickly. It’s going to be so tight. This is the closest I’ve been to relegation in the last 10 years, I’m used to it though, I’ve not been used to being in the top half, that’s only happened two or three times.”
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