Leo Hjelde might be finished with Leeds United after latest comments
Since Daniel Farke arrived at Elland Road this summer, most Leeds United players have gone from strength to strength under the management of the German.
But one player who has seen his involvement reduced across the season so far is Leo Hjelde, with the Norwegian named in Farke’s first two starting XIs at the beginning of the season only to now be playing his football for the under-21 side.
The defender has performed excellently in Michael Skubala’s side, including in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League 2 on Sunday (29 October), but the Leeds U21s’ manager’s latest comments may well signal the end of Hjelde’s time at Elland Road.
As quoted by Leeds Live (30 October) Skubala discussed Hjelde’s best position, saying: “For me, I think his best position is the left of a three if you play a back three. He’s so versatile, such a good technician and he’s so calm.
“So I think he can play left-back, he can play left-centre half as well. I think he’s quite fortunate that he can do it all, but I think his ultimate best position is left of a three. He’s a good, young talent.”
While it may seem positive that under-21’s manager has been so keen to credit the Norwegian for his versatility, that is at youth level and it seems likely that he may well only make the cut in the Championship if he deployed in a back three.
Farke is unlikely to change his entire formation and system to try and accommodate Hjelde into his starting XI, especially when Pascal Struijk and Joe Rodon have formed such an impressive partnership at the heart of the defence, while Sam Byram has shone at left-back.
Even if the German did opt to play a back-three at Elland Road, you would imagine he would play Liam Cooper alongside Rodon and Struijk before he called upon Hjelde, given the fact that he hasn’t been included in a match-day squad since September.
The 20-year-old still has plenty of time to discover his place in the Leeds United side given his young age, but it seems more than likely that he could well depart Elland Road given how far away he seems from the Whites’ starting XI currently.
There were plenty of links between Hjelde and Salernitana during the summer transfer window [Cronache, 11 August] and that interest is only likely to continue should the Norwegian’s exile continue until the window opens again.
In other Leeds United news, Farke has set Summerville a new challenge at Elland Road after his excellent last few weeks