Anthony Onifade

Mon 8 January 2024 11:40, UK

Daniel Farke may well have hit the final nail in the coffin of Charlie Cresswell’s future at Leeds United after he decided to leave him out again against Peterborough.

The Whites secured their spot in the FA Cup fourth round at the Weston Homes Stadium on Sunday (7 January) thanks to a tremendous Patrick Bamford strike and a double from Ethan Ampadu.

However, it was another game which saw the rarely-seen Cresswell missing from the 18-man squad despite injury problems for Pascal Struijk and Liam Cooper.

Farke yet again made the call to ditch the young Englishman from the squad and instead deploy Ampadu alongside Joe Rodon at the heart of the defence, a decision which proved a masterstroke but one which sent a clear exit message to Cresswell.

Farke, asked after their 3-0 win over Birmingham City on New Year’s Day, if Cresswell is likely to leave, he admitted that it will be up to the player should he want to leave the club this month but made it clear that they would like to keep him.

Farke, speaking on the youngster’s future, as shared by The Athletic journalist Phil Hay (1 January), said: “Charlie’s a proud player. It’s up to him if he wants to take this challenge.

“From our side, there is no will to let him go but it’s important to speak about what the player wants.”

Indeed, it will certainly be Cresswell’s decision but the call to axe him against Peterborough – a cup game which should have handed him a rare opportunity – may now be the final nail in his coffin as a Leeds United player, for the next six months at least.

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 that has led to several transfer interests which Cresswell must now be considering.

The Sunday Mirror [30 December, page 72] reported that the youngster is ready to quit Elland Road for good amid interest from the likes of Sunderland and Ipswich Town while The Sun newspaper journalist Alan Nixon has also reported, via his Patreon [31 December], that Blackburn Rovers are interested in his services in a “surprise” move.

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.

Leeds Live journalist Beren Cross, writing in his article on Monday 8 January also mooted that the young defender could now be making the call to quit after Farke’s latest snub.

He wrote: “Cresswell was not going to be taken to London Road out of sympathy for the lack of opportunities he has had in the league this season. Farke is right to do everything he sees fit to deliver results for Leeds, but the unfortunate by-product in this case may be the loss of a defender with immense potential.

“It may not necessarily be a permanent loss, but if Cooper and Struijk are both struck with injuries in the second half of this season and Ampadu is needed in midfield, Leeds would be crying out for Cresswell. Rightly or wrongly, Sunday’s exclusion only points to one resolution in this window.”

Farke may well have said he wishes for Cresswell to stay but reading between the lines of his latest comments on his future, the door is certainly open for the young defender to take charge of his own destiny.

The Peterborough axe must now be the final nail.

In other Leeds United news, the club are pushing to sign a Premier League player now bound for a loan exit this month.