Daniel Farke left with no choice but to drop Archie Gray from Leeds United XI for Huddersfield Town visit
After so much focus on workload Daniel Farke now has next to no choice but to drop Archie Gray from his Leeds United starting line-up for the visit of Huddersfield Town.
The 17-year-old has emerged as a surprise key member of the Whites first team this season in his first senior football, having regularly partnered Ethan Ampadu in central midfield before filling in at right-back in consecutive games.
Much was made of the fact that the teenager played three full matches for England under-19s over the international break, with Farke speaking on the subject to acknowledge the issue but asserting that first-team Leeds games were more beneficial to his development than age group international matches [The Athletic, 19 October].
He subsequently played Gray for duration of the win at Norwich and then again for the loss at Stoke City, despite resting the likes of Canaries match-winner Crysencio Summerville and in-form winger Dan James for the second of those two games within five days.
Seven 90-minute matches in the space of three weeks is heavy going for any outfield player, but for one who is likely to still be developing physically it is a concern.
Leeds United clearly have a medical department who monitor this and won’t be putting Gray in harm’s way for the sake of it, but if the player who scored twice to complete a 3-2 win from 2-0 down (Summerville) can be rested for 70 minutes of the next game then surely the youngster can too.
The problem for Farke is that, even if the data suggests the homegrown favourite can continue at a high level, the manager will increasingly have no leg to stand on if there is a negotiation to be had with international coaches.
And even if Gray appears to be showing no ill effects of a mammoth October workload that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences down the line.
Eden Hazard’s retirement at 32 earlier this month [Sky Sports, 11 October] following a nightmare four years at Real Madrid where his body failed him, and the most recent of an increasingly frequent series of serious injury for Neymar at just 31 [Sky Sports, 19 October] should be seen as cautionary tales when it comes to loading up talented youngsters with too much football too early.
That is not to say that Gray is on the illustrious pair’s level, and it is obviously hard for a manager who needs to win games now to think a decade down the line, but simply continuing to trot the 17-year-old game after game when others are being rotated seems to be taking an unnecessary risk.
And as the focus on his workload increases it would surely be beneficial to lead by example in giving him a break every now and then if Leeds United would like international coaches to follow suit.
Ilia Gruev’s introduction to the starting XI might not have been overly successful at Stoke but the Whites still have Ampadu and Glen Kamara in the midfield, and Luke Ayling might have had his struggles but he isn’t so bad that he simply can’t be used at right back any more.
And even if that is the case, it was only a few weeks ago that Jamie Shackleton’s own versatility was being hailed as a key boost for Farke.
Gray has been a revelation so far this term but it would be sensible for the Whites to do what they can to ensure he is around for the duration of it in order to continue to be so for as long as possible.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites have been backed for automatic promotion with a transfer boost to the season on the cards.