Leeds United won’t be in action again until October 2 following the postponement of their clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford. The game was scheduled for Sunday afternoon but due to the Queen’s funeral and the huge operation behind it, Leeds will now be forced to head across the Pennines later in the year.
The lengthy break hasn’t stopped Leeds from training, though, and it seems Jesse Marsch has been putting his side through their paces on the training ground. A video, posted on the Whites’ Youtube channel shows exactly that as the head coach looks to get some serious work done between now and the visit of Aston Villa.
Here’s a few observations we made from the video.
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Gnonto’s role
Wilfried Gnonto will make his first appearance in a Leeds shirt on Friday night as he lines up for the Under-21s against Southampton at Elland Road. However, it seems he’ll be a part of Marsch’s first-team squad and the video shows him training with his new team-mates at Thorp Arch.
Despite the senior experience he has picked up with FC Zurich and Italy, Marsch’s immediate plans for Gnonto are currently unknown. The 18-year-old will have the chance to catch his eye in training, though, and he’ll be aiming to make the most of the Premier League break to settle in and establish himself within the squad.
Mateo Joseph, Archie Gray, Sonny Perkins and Darko Gyabi could also be seen in training and they look to have become regulars in the senior set-up this season.
Dallas progress
Stuart Dallas is still some way off a return to action as he continues to recover from the fractured femur he suffered towards the end of last season. However, he’s making swift progress, it seems, with Marsch confirming last month that the Northern Ireland international had restarted running.
The video shows him working hard on his thigh strength in a conditioning session and completing some dumbbell split squats. The treatment room can be a lonely place for players, especially those with long-term injuries, but the short clip of Dallas working in the gym appears to suggest he is being kept around the playing environment during his recovery.
Hooter humour
Luke Ayling made his long-awaited return to action earlier this month at Brentford, stepping off the bench to take part in the final 20 minutes of the contest at the Gtech Community Stadium. Within a minute of entering the field, he was hitting the deck following a hefty clash of heads.
Unfortunately, Ayling’s nose seemed to take the brunt of the impact, meaning that while he was able to continue, his nose was left crooked and visibly broken. That seemed to be the subject of a conversation between the right-back and Illan Meslier in training with the 31-year-old demonstrating how it was snapped back into place.
Meslier can then be seen comically bending his own nose to the side in an impression of Ayling.
Aaronson’s new nickname?
It’s easy to miss, but it seems Tyler Adams has a nickname for his compatriot that could catch on if Brenden Aaronson continues to shine for the Whites. As Adams walks out of the changing rooms at Thorp Arch and grabs a ball, he can be heard saying, ‘come on, come on Brendeninho’.
Given Aaronson’s flair on the ball and his ability in tight spaces, it’s probably not a bad nickname either, likening him to some of the greats who have emerged from Brazil over the years.
Forward thinking
A large chunk of the video is dedicated to a drill which promotes ball control and intense pressing. Pairing up, Leeds could be seen competing in small two v two games, with the aim being to beat the press and score at one of the box.
Interestingly Joe Gelhardt and Patrick Bamford were partnered up together in the drill and given that was United’s forward pair in the second half of the clash against Brenford earlier this month, it certainly intrigued. Without wishing to read too much into the drill, it is also something Marsch has spoken about in recent weeks with the possibility of playing them together up front.
As such, it’s something we could see more of in the coming weeks and months. It’s also worth noting that Pascal Struijk was paired with Robin Koch in the drill, which is a possibility at the back for when the Whites return to action against Villa, as Junior Firpo closing in on a return to action.
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