Leeds United: Gretar Steinsson hailed as Ilia Gruev flies under the radar at Elland Road
Leeds United midfielder Ilia Gruev has been hailed as a “smooth operator” and underrated by pundit Adrian Clarke.
The 23-year-old joined the Whites from Werder Bremen, with Elland Road chief Gretar Steinsson overseeing the deal last summer.
Steinsson was appointed as the Leeds Head of Technical and Recruitment shortly before the club secured the services of Gruev.
“The other player I really like in the Leeds team that no one really talks about and that’s the Bulgaria lad, Ilia Gruev,” Clarke said on the What The EFL? Podcast (15 February).
“He is class, he really is a smooth operator in the heart of the engine room. Gets about the pitch, recovers possession kind of effortlessly but he does with the ball. He just moves it early and quickly but with real quality and rarely gives the ball away.
“He can drop a pass over the top of a defender all day long for those wide players. Gruev is another great piece of recruitment from Leeds United. Whoever is in charge of the transfers deserves an awful lot of credit.”
Leeds United star comes good
The Whites certainly haven’t got their recruitment 100% spot on in recent times, and there may have even been fears over Gruev given his lack of minutes earlier in the campaign.
The midfielder struggled to get into Daniel Farke’s starting XI, with the boss instead opting for the likes of fellow summer signings Glen Kamara and Ethan Ampadu, and young star Archie Gray.
The latter has, however, often moved into right-back, while Ampadu has been required at centre-back at times, creating space for Gruev in midfield.
The Bulgarian has now been a regular for the Whites in 2024, and doesn’t look like losing his place in the side anytime soon.
Farke has built a really exciting team in West Yorkshire, with his attackers stealing much of the limelight. But their goals and assists would not be possible without the hard work of Gruev behind them, although the midfield man did clinch his first league assist in the win against Swansea.
In other Leeds United news, a Sky Sports pundit raved about one “valuable” Whites ace after what happened to him against Swansea.
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