Day one of 306 starts here. Ten months and one day from now, Leeds United will be rounding off what they hope is a one-and-done whistle-stop return to the Premier League.
Thirty-six days on from the sickening reality of relegation at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur, United’s players and staff will reconvene this morning. Leeds Beckett University will play host once again to the series of day-one tests Rob Price, head of medicine and performance, and his team have set.
The players will arrive at the Carnegie School of Sport, register, take a look over their bespoke schedule and work breakfast around their various tests. It will be an opportunity for reunions and catch-ups as they come by one another throughout the day.
Luke Ayling, Junior Firpo, Robin Koch, Marc Roca, Patrick Bamford, Jack Harrison, Luis Sinisterra and Georginio Rutter are all expected to be among the first crop of players reporting back. Adam Forshaw and Joel Robles have been invited, but are technically free agents after their contracts expired last week.
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Meanwhile, the likes of Illan Meslier, Liam Cooper, Brenden Aaronson, Crysencio Summerville, Rodrigo, Rasmus Kristensen, Wilfried Gnonto and Max Wober should get another week off after their international exertions. It remains to be seen whether there is a head coach in attendance.
If, on May 29, you had been told, on the first day of pre-season, the takeover would still be processing, there would be no head coach, no new signings, no major departures, no new kit unveiling and one friendly announced, you would have been forgiven for fearing the worst. Don’t panic.
There remains a quiet confidence behind the scenes at Elland Road about their summer progress. Yes, EFL and United are going back and forth with the takeover paperwork, but chairman-elect Paraag Marathe is content with where 49ers Enterprises’ documentation is at.
Yes, the original hope had been a takeover announcement would precede a head coach confirmation, but that may be reviewed. While Daniel Farke, as it is expected to be, does not necessarily need to be involved in day-one testing, the optics are not lost on the boardroom.
Even if the players have privately been reassured about who their next boss will be, there is a lot to be said for starting off as you mean to go on, without another day wasted waiting to get this new era going. If Andrea Radrizzani can be relied upon to wave the appointment through, it seems wise to put Farke to work sooner rather than later.
United are expected to touch base with the takeover process again this morning and then take a view on whether they push ahead with the announcement. As for transfers, well, Nick Hammond has been grafting for more than a fortnight on that front.
The recruitment team has not stopped working since the end of last season and there are lists of targets forming, but untouched until a head coach has had a say, understandably. On the new kit front, there are pictures doing the rounds online of some very convincing designs.
If the leaks are to be believed, that announcement also cannot be too far away, with Boxt on the front of the shirt of course. For example, last season’s design was unveiled on July 13.
On the friendlies front, they are virtually in place. Manchester United will be played in Oslo, as you know, but there are expected to be three other UK-based games in public too, with a couple of others behind closed doors.
