Daniel Farke helped me decide on Leeds United exit to Borussia Monchegladbach claims Max Wober
Daniel Farke helped Max Wober make his decision to leave Leeds United on loan this summer by giving him an insight into Borussia Monchengladbach, according to the defender.
Wober said to Rheinische Post (22 September) that he “immediately told” the Whites boss when there was contact with the Bundesliga side that he “would probably like to do that”, which led to talks between the pair that he characterised as “completely open on both sides”.
The 25-year-old had been seen as a potential key player for the Championship whom the new owners wanted to keep [Yorkshire Evening Post, 22 July], and was thought to have indicated his intention to remain for new season [Leeds Live, 22 July] before his sudden absence from the pre-season friendly against Monaco soon led to a move.
Wober said of talks with the manager: “We were completely open on both sides. I immediately told Mr. Farke that there was contact with Gladbach and that I would probably like to do that. He told me a little about his experiences.
“He objectively listed things that were great and things that he would have changed. It was a good conversation to form an opinion.”
Surprise
Wober’s sudden decision to leave looked like it had thrown a spanner into the works of Farke’s plans, given the timing and his position in the side.
He had worn the captain’s armband for a behind-closed-doors friendly against Barnsley, and for almost two months following relegation hadn’t looked to be one of the players likely to leave.
So it reflects pretty well on the manager that he was apparently so accepting of the move and willing to help Wober in forming a complete picture.
It would likely have been doubly frustrating for the German to lose a key player to the club that he had just been sacked from at the end of last season, not least via a relegation release clause situation that he had previously said must “never happen again in the future” [YEP, 13 July].
But if the discussions between Farke and Wober were so positive it surely increases the chances that, pending a successful promotion this year, the centre-back would be brought back into the side by the manager in future.
For now, Joe Rodon’s loan signing from Tottenham has provided a very capable replacement, as the Whites recruitment department largely managed to fashion a solid squad despite the exodus from Elland Road this summer.
Results have been reasonable so far, and with three clean sheets in a row the team is currently not missing Wober too badly even if it would have been a definite boost to have been able to keep hold of him.
In other Leeds United news, a key Whites player has admitted he took surprise tactical instructions “too literally” when he had a poor game.