Ilia Gruev still a mystery at Leeds United after £5million transfer as midfielder rarely seen under Daniel Farke
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 …
It is impossible to say that Ilia Gruev’s signing hasn’t worked for Leeds United yet because he hasn’t been given the opportunity to prove himself, according to Paul Robinson.
The Bulgarian midfielder has started once in the Championship in the 1-0 defeat at Stoke City on 25 October but would have been easy to miss otherwise having made seven other appearances off the bench in the league, six of which came in the 89th minute or later.
BBC Sport pundit Robinson accepts that at £5million the former Werder Bremen man didn’t come cheap as this level but feels that the transfer, and Gruev’s contribution in general, can’t be fairly judged when the three options ahead of him have been so strong in Ethan Ampadu, Archie Gray and Glen Kamara.
Speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News he said: “I don’t think he’s got started. He hasn’t been given the opportunity. He’s had one start.
“But you look at the way the side’s playing and they way that they’re winning every week, most weeks let’s say, it’s very difficult. We’re still early on in the season.
“They paid a lot of money for him, £5million, which is a decent-sized transfer in the Championship, and he’s a player that the manager obviously likes and wanted.
“But at the moment when you’ve got the likes of Amapadu and Kamara in there, you’ve got Archie Gray playing in there. The midfield is very strong in an attacking sense as well.
“There’s not much of a case for who you would replace, because the players in the positions are playing well.
“He’s part of a very strong squad and in the long Championship season he will get his opportunity. You can’t say it’s not worked because he hasn’t been given an opportunity to prove that it can.
“I think his time will come eventually.”
The fact that Leeds United lost against a side has otherwise been struggling in Gruev’s only start sticks out as a negative mark, but given he had barely been integrated before that point it looked a risk at the time.
Daniel Farke chose to rotate that night and it backfired, whereas otherwise the 23-year-old simply hasn’t been needed a great deal.
Few would have expected Gray to be a first-team regular at 17 and the squad would have been thin if the Whites hadn’t added enough numbers, so on balance it should be seen as a positive at this stage that Gruev hasn’t been tested yet.
In other Leeds United news, Farke has confirmed that he’s relegated a player to the under-21s despite them being available at a time of need.