Jesse Marsch first-team picks Charlie Cresswell and Kristoffer Klaesson start for Leeds United under-23s
Charlie Cresswell and Kristoffer Klaesson both start for Leeds United under-23s against Brighton today (15 April) after recent first-team appearances.
The pair of young Whites both came on for Jesse Marsch in the wild victory over Wolves, but a trio of other members of the first team miss out on valuable minutes.
Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood and Crysencio Summerville are all missing from the squad as their involvement in the Premier League run in has increased.
It is an important game for the age-group side with Leeds Live’s Beren Cross writing: “There are three matches left to play this season and backs are very much against the wall to ensure the Whites get themselves out of trouble.”
On the team selection and the lack of the attacking names he added: “It had been hoped the likes of Crysencio Summerville, Sam Greenwood and Joe Gelhardt may get appearances in East Sussex given the gap between first-team games, but they have not travelled.”
Joffy misses out again
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It has been a feature of the opening few weeks of Marsch’s reign that there has been a high number of contributions from the younger squad members.
Gelhardt was widely expected to be the biggest beneficiary of the change in managers, having struggled for time under Marcelo Bielsa.
But despite Patrick Bamford’s injury-cursed season continuing, and the man the Argentine often preferred, Tyler Roberts, also suffering a major problem, the teenager has been unable to fill the gap.
A back problem of his own and a Covid-19 false positive means he is short of game time recently.
He could have done with a run out, with the first-team’s next fixture still 10 days away, but misses out here, as does Greenwood who has arguably overtaken him lately.
Summerville scored a wonderful under23s hat-trick a week ago, but is also absent.
Perhaps this means the trio are now firmly part of the senior outfit, but it is still somewhat of a surprise.
In other Leeds United news, amid his set-backs Joffy weighed in on the debate about training intensity after Marsch’s comments about Bielsa.