Charlie Cresswell could quit Leeds United after Daniel Farke move – Phil Hay
Charlie Cresswell could soon start looking for a move elsewhere if he isn’t more involved at Leeds United, according to Phil Hay.
Speaking on The Square Ball podcast on Friday (22 September, 34:46), the Athletic journalist said it was “notable” that the 21-year-old defender wasn’t included in the squad for the draw with Hull City on Wednesday (20 September).
He revealed there has been “a lot of interest” in the England U-21 international and that he “will start looking elsewhere” if his opportunities don’t improve at Elland Road.
“I thought it was quite notable that Charlie Cresswell was out of the squad on Wednesday,” said Hay. “The players coming back and (Liam) Cooper being fit again meant there was no space for him in the 20.
“We know there has been a lot of interest in Cresswell, there was last season, we know he had a good season at Millwall.
“If he’s not knocking on the door in the Championship or if he’s not in the squad in the Championship, you can’t help feeling that he’s going to be another one that’s going to start looking elsewhere.”
Difficult
This is an extremely difficult situation for Farke to manage as he does have an excellent choice of centre-backs to choose from at Championship level.
Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk have built up a solid partnership over the past few weeks despite the former’s red card at Hull, but captain Liam Cooper is now fit and looks set to be the third man in the mix.
That makes Cresswell’s path to the first team very challenging as he’s unlikely to get any opportunities to impress and he wasn’t even on the bench against the Tigers.
After a superb loan spell with Millwall last season, he probably would have expected to be more involved at the start of this campaign, but he has only been named in the lineup once in the league and hasn’t featured for almost a month.
The Whites won’t want to lose a player of his potential, but if his chances don’t improve before January, he could be looking to move on, whether that’s out on loan again or on a permanent deal this time.
In other Leeds United news, one player could be set for a permanent Whites exit following an £82million development.