Daniel Farke must make brave Leeds United tactical reshuffle after what Sam Byram did
Daniel Farke must reshuffle his tactics and find a way to fit both Junior Firpo and Sam Byram into his Leeds United starting XI after what the latter did against Bristol City.
While the Whites may have ended up having a stalemate against the Robins in their most recent Championship clash, Byram’s performance stood out above the rest.
The defender was put into the team as Firpo was suspended after receiving too many yellow cards and he more than held his own.
In fact, Darren Bent even described one of the defender’s runs as “absolutely fantastic” which shows the impact he had.
While the defender is likely to swap over to right-back against Plymouth Argyle as Jayden Bogle has also hit the five yellow card mark, if he performs as well as he did against the Robins, it’s hard to see how Farke could justify cutting him from his starting XI in the future.
Sam Byram should get an extended run in the Leeds United first-team
Firpo and Bogle have both had strong campaigns this term but the form Byram showed against the Robins has likely caused a selection headache for Farke.
While the decision to move Firpo forward would certainly be a brave one, he could move the left-back up and use him as a winger in the absence of Largie Ramazani.
The Dominican Republic international already plays an advanced role for his country in each international break and, more recently, he’s been the standout player.
Firpo managed to expertly execute a panenka penalty in the Dominican Republic’s 5-0 win over Antigua and Barbuda on 12 October which shows his confidence in front of goal.
The former Barcelona man would be able to put his attacking ability to good use and perhaps contribute to the goals scored in the game.
Byram’s solid defensive work would no doubt allow the 28-year-old to go forward and who knows, Farke could potentially discover a better way to line up his team if the gamble pays off.
In other Leeds news, Daniel Farke shared his verdict on the Whites’ performance against Bristol City.
For more Leeds news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.