Daniel Farke may not want Leo Hjelde after Leeds United defender axed to under-21s amid injury crisis
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Leeds United …
Paul Robinson says it is a “difficult one” to judge the situation after Daniel Farke confirmed he had sent Leo Hjelde down to the Leeds United under-21 squad.
The young defender actually began the season as the starting left-back but saw the plan quickly abandoned in favour of Sam Byram by the manager, who despite injuries to the 30-year-old and Junior Firpo he hasn’t been moved to give Hjelde, 20, another shot.
Robinson has suggested that the Norwegian isn’t necessarily at the end of the road with the Whites yet as he is young enough that Farke might see him developing still, but admits the German may have already made his mind up.
Speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News he said: “It’s a difficult one to say. You don’t know what the manager wants, what his plans for the future are for him.
“He’s still very young, and he might just see him as a player who’s not quite ready to play that the level he wants to yet, or whether he doesn’t want him. We don’t know, that’s down to the manager’s opinion.
“It has been a problem area. A lot of the time Pascal Struijk played there as well, and now he’s a mainstay at the centre if defence and he’s the captain, and playing particularly well there, so that’s another option that he’s lost.
“But as far as Hjelde goes you don’t know what the manager’s thinking. The fact that he’s not in and around the first team would suggest that the manager doesn’t think he’s ready yet.”
Hjelde is nominally a centre-back himself but surely isn’t going to get much of a look in there any time soon so on the left would be his route to the Leeds United first team.
That Farke has opted for all of Byram, Firpo, Jamie Shackleton and now Djed Spence ahead of him it is clearly a very tall order for him to get back in the side.
The youngster was reportedly wanted in the summer and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see him go elsewhere before long, if their summer stance [Yorkshire Evening Post] has changed.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites may decided to “push for more” compensation from Everton if they get lowballed.