Daniel Farke will now be desperate to keep Charlie Cresswell at Leeds United after transfer developments
Leeds United got their expected Elland Road exodus underway after the departures of Robin Koch and Diego Llorente and new boss Daniel Farke may now be desperate to keep sensation Charlie Cresswell at the club.
Both Llorente and Koch sealed loan moves away to AS Roma and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively, leaving the Whites potentially short of options at centre-back ahead of the new campaign.
Those exits now leave veteran Liam Cooper, Max Wober and Pascal Struijk as Farke’s only three remaining senior centre-backs, with the Whites expecting a few more defenders to depart this summer.
And one of those defenders who has been severely linked with a move away this summer is indeed academy product Cresswell.
The 20-year-old sensation enjoyed a thrilling loan spell at promotion hopefuls Millwall, becoming a vital and pivotal performer as the South Londoners only fell short of a playoff place on the Championship final day.
Cresswell featured prominently before suffering an unfortunate eye socket injury in the closing months of the campaign, scoring four goals and two assists from 28 Championship games with such form sparking plenty of interest in his services.
Journalist Phil Hay reported on 3 March that the talented defender’s immediate future at Elland Road is “uncertain” and it’s safe to assume there will be approaches for the youngster in the summer.
After reports from Football League World (19 June) emerged that the club rejected a bid from SPFL giants Rangers, Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Smyth (26 June) reported that the club didn’t receive a bid.
However, that won’t deter potential suitors this summer, but the amount of key senior stars leaving Elland Road in the coming weeks, new boss Farke will be incredibly desperate to lock the Thorp Arch doors to Cresswell and throw away the key.
Cresswell has been tipped for a huge future at Elland Road as it is, and after shining in the Championship with Millwall last season he has shown he is ready to step up now in the club’s time of need.
Another season in the English second division would be perfect for his development and the German would be well inclined to use him as a guaranteed starter given his high levels of experience in the division, plus his experience for the England Under-21s in their route to the European Championship finals.
Certainly, first-team guarantees are what the talented 20-year-old will be searching for when he returns this summer, but considering the profile of squad being built at Elland Road, with vibrant and fresh young players at the forefront of their project, it would be incredibly baffling if they allow Cresswell to depart.
Gary Rowett, Cresswell’s current manager at Millwall recently described the young defender as “outstanding” and it’s easy to see why given his superb underlying stats.
Whilst registering impressive six-goal contributions as a centre-back, Cresswell helped the club to five clean sheets, averaged 1.3 interceptions, 1.5 tackles, and 3.1 clearances per 90 whilst winning 61% of his aerial duels, 58% of his ground duels and 60% of his total duels [SofaScore] which certainly shows a defender very capable of performing at such a level again.
The Whites fans will certainly not be happy seeing one of their fledgling young talents leave without even proving himself amongst the first-team picture, and his experience may well prove invaluable for Farke and Leeds United as they look to navigate an immediate Premier League return.
In other Leeds United news, the club have been handed a boost to sign a Manchester United player this summer with Erik ten Hag likely to sanction his exit.