Here are the latest Leeds United evening headlines on Tuesday, 20 September 2020.
Bamford
Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford has revealed he is feeling good after getting more minutes under his belt for the under-21s on Friday. Bamford scored a hattrick as the young Whites defeated Southampton 6-2 at Elland Road.
The 29-year-old was one of four senior players from Jesse Marsch’s squad to feature in the game, with Luke Ayling, Junior Firpo and Liam Cooper all starting. Speaking to leedsunited.com, Bamford spoke of the importance of getting more minutes under his belt.
He said: “It was good for us to get some minutes, as we’ve obviously missed a few games. The main thing was that we wanted to win the game and help the Under-21s as much as we can, and yeah, we managed to do that so it was a good night.
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“It’s my job to score goals so I try to do it every game! It’s always nice to come off the pitch with three. I feel good - it’s just about getting the minutes and the consistency of game after game to get into the swing of things and get your body used to it again.”
Kristensen
Standing on Premier Leaguer pitches, faced with the likes of Raheem Sterling, has proved a far bigger leap for Rasmus Kristensen than he expected at Leeds United. The 25-year-old arrived for around £10m in the summer from Red Bull Salzburg, where he was dominating domestic flanks.
That domination, from playing for a title challenger to a recovering relegation candidate, was swiftly replaced by a steep learning curve for Kristensen. The Denmark international has been backed by Jesse Marsch and he only missed the last game through injury, but it’s clear he has not adapted as quickly as some of his fellow new arrivals.
Speaking with the Danish newspaper B.T. while on international duty, Kristensen opened up on the challenges he had faced so far. He said: “You hang on tooth and nail to be able to keep up and it moves you.
“I can also feel that on myself just from match one to match five. There has already been progress and it will get better and better.”
Read more here.
Aaronson
Leeds United have kept sharp over their Premier League break by competing in a number of training games at Thorp Arch, Brenden Aaronson has revealed. The Whites have seen two games postponed over the last couple of weeks following the death of the Queen, with games against Nottingham Forest and Manchester United being pushed back to be played at a later date.
With the international break taking up the final stages of September, Leeds will go a month without a Premier League contest, with their next outing scheduled to come on October 2 against Aston Villa at Elland Road. Training has continued under Jesse Marsch, though, and the head coach has been keen to see his players keep themselves ticking over and remain sharp.
Aaronson has linked up with the United States national team this week for games against Japan and Saudi Arabia as they continue their preparations for the World Cup in November and he admits the last few weeks have been challenging. However, the 21-year-old insists he is feeling fit after some intense work with the Whites.
“It’s been kind of tough not being able to get back in the swing of things,” Aaronson said, as per the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But we’ve had some intrasquad [games], and we’ve been training hard. So I feel ready to go.”
He added: “When you look at it, you take a step back, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is a crazy year with a lot of games,’ and it’s just all kind of clumped in together. You have to try to stay healthy as best you can, do everything you can to look after yourself, train more, and be ready for these kinds of things.”
Read more here.
READ NEXT:
· Liam Cooper explains 'individual' differences between Jesse Marsch and Marcelo Bielsa's tactics
· How Leeds United are staying sharp during their extended Premier League lay-off
· Two things Leeds United must improve on ahead of return to Premier League action
· Premier League set to propose rule changes that could affect Leeds United in Wednesday meeting
· Liam Cooper on battling back from injuries and duties as Leeds United captain
