Daniel Farke to leave Charlie Cresswell at home for Leeds United v Rotherham in Championship
Daniel Farke should leave Leeds United defender Charlie Cresswell at home ahead of their Championship clash against Rotherham on Saturday (10 February).
Farke had frozen the academy graduate out of first-team contention amid a disagreement behind the scenes over his playing time, before revealing ahead of the FA Cup draw with Plymouth Argyle that the door was open again [The Athletic, 26 January].
The Englishman had been linked to an exit within the Championship amid a January stand-off over his playing time, but the Whites were not prepared to strengthen a promotion rival.
The Athletic journalist Phil Hay suggested that the mending of bridges between the two was only brought out of convenience, with the Whites struggling to land defensive reinforcements and suitable transfer exit options for the 21-year-old not coming forward.
Despite Farke looking to mend some bridges after his latest comments on Cresswell, there may still not be a place for him in the first-team squad which means he may be forced to stay at home again on Saturday as the Whites look to regain their place in the automatic promotion place.
Cresswell a forgotten man at Elland Road
The Thorp Arch academy graduate is so far down the pecking order he’s only been included by Farke in the matchday squads once since the 2-1 win over Plymouth before the November international break [SofaScore].
It is abundantly clear that Joe Rodon, Pascal Struijk, and Liam Cooper are ahead of him right now in Farke’s thinking which leaves him bereft of opportunities and game time at the club.
Farke’s several decisions to leave him out of the matchday squads this season certainly suggest that he doesn’t see him as part of his plans and even despite his latest comments, how the youngster gets back in looks incredibly bleak after concerns over his attitude.
Cresswell is an incredibly gifted player but is certainly at an age where he needs to be playing regularly at a high level as he tremendously showed last season at Millwall and even on international duty for the England under-21s.
However, the Whites did not sanction a move due to interest from top-end Championship teams during the January transfer window.
His exit would have left the Whites looking short at centre-back, especially with Struijk out injured, so with January signings proving so difficult it appeared the manager decided to address the issue with his unsettled defender and open the door again in the absence of many alternatives.
Where Cresswell goes from here remains to be seen but he will almost certainly be left at home again against Rotherham. Another damaging dot on his undeniable potential but that attitude must be fixed if Farke is to trust him again.
In other Leeds United news, talkSPORT presenter Alan Brazil appears to have mocked the club after an FA Cup development at Chelsea.
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