Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke has had a break from club action this weekend during the last international break until the next one in March of next year.
The German head coach will have spent this time analysing how the season has gone so far and what he and his coaches can do to ensure that the team progresses and kicks on to secure automatic promotion.
Sunderland and Sheffield United, who currently occupy the top two positions, are two points ahead of the West Yorkshire outfit, which means that one game could flip the outlook on the campaign.
The Whites finished third in the Championship last term and that meant that they had to go through the play-offs, where they beat Norwich City over two legs before losing 1-0 to Southampton in the final at Wembley.
Leeds will surely want to remove any doubt and avoid the play-offs by finishing in the top two this season, and they will need their key players to remain fit and in fine form to do so.
During the current international break, numerous Leeds players have been in action for their respective countries, with mixed success on the pitch.
Leeds United's international performers
Tottenham Hotspur loanee Manor Solomon endured a frustrating night on Thursday, despite a strong result for his team, losing 100% of his duels and failing with all four of his dribbles in a 0-0 draw for Israel against France, as he was dominated by Theo Hernandez.
On Friday, Brenden Aaronson and Ao Tanaka did not feature for the USA or Japan respectively, whilst Wilfried Gnonto did not register a goal or an assist in a 2-2 draw for Italy’s U21s against France. Mateo Joseph also blanked and missed a ‘big chance’ in a 0-0 draw with England’s U21s for Spain.
Junior Firpo started as a left wing-back for the Dominican Republic against Dominica on Saturday and won nine of his 13 duels in a 6-1 win for his country, along with two chances created for his teammates.
Meanwhile, Joe Rodon caught the eye for Wales in a 0-0 draw with Turkiye. The Leeds central defender won three of his six duels and made eight clearances to help his side keep a clean sheet, earning himself a Player of the Match award.
He was not the only Whites star to shine for Wales in that match, however, as rarely-seen goalkeeper Karl Darlow also impressed between the sticks.
Karl Darlow starred for Wales
The English-born colossus opted to make himself available for Wales this season and it currently looks as though that was a great decision, as he has thrived on the international stage.
Darlow has now made three appearances for his country in the Nations League and Craig Bellamy’s side have won all three of those games, conceding just one goal in the process.
The 34-year-old ace starred in the 0-0 draw with Turkey on Saturday, with three saves, two punches, and one high claim to keep a clean sheet, whilst the Leeds man was helped out by Kerem Aktürkoğlu hitting the woodwork with his late penalty.
GIVEMESPORT handed him a player rating of 7/10 for his performance and wrote that he made ‘key saves’ to keep the hosts at bay throughout the match.
Darlow has only started one game in the Championship since his move to Elland Road from Newcastle United on a permanent deal in the summer of 2023, which means that he has not had much of a chance to showcase his quality between the sticks at club level.
He did, however, impress during his time on loan with Hull City in the division during the 2022/23 campaign. The shot-stopper made 12 appearances for the Tigers and conceded 1.7 fewer goals than expected based on the post-shot xG of the shots against him.
Appearances
3
Goals conceded
1
Save success rate
88%
Run-out success rate
100%
Saves made
7
As you can see in the table above, Darlow’s shot-stopping has been strong at international level for Wales this season, as it was during his time with Hull, and Farke must now take advantage of his form.
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The former Magpies goalkeeper has shown the manager that he can step up and perform at a high level, against countries like Turkiye, and this means that the German boss can now afford to finally ditch Illan Meslier from the starting line-up.
Why Illan Meslier should be dropped
The French shot-stopper, who joined the club amid interest in Emi Martinez in 2020, kept his ninth clean sheet in 15 Championship appearances in the 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers before this latest international break.
However, the man between the sticks has not been the main reason why Leeds have had such an impressive defence in the second tier this season, it has been the back four and team in front of him.
Meslier has only faced a post-shot xG, which measures the value of shots after they have been taken, of 6.5 in 15 games, and conceded nine goals, which shows that the Frenchman has underperformed as a shot-stopper so far.
Journalist Barry Collins described him as a “liability” in 2022 and his performances at Championship level have done little to prove the reporter wrong, with his biggest blunder this term coming against Sunderland – in the clip below.
Since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, Meslier has prevented -5.50 goals, based on the xG against him, which essentially means that an average goalkeeper would be expected to have conceded between five and six fewer goals than he has in that time.
The £30k-per-week liability has, therefore, underperformed significantly as a shot-stopper at Championship level, after conceding a staggering 22.32 more than expected based on xG in his last two seasons in the Premier League with the Whites.
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When it gets to the important stage of the season where Leeds are battling it out for an automatic promotion place, they will need their goalkeeper to be reliable as a shot-stopper and that is why Farke must consider unleashing Darlow instead of the underperforming Frenchman, particularly after his recent showings for Wales.