Latest news with #LukasNmecha
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Piroe scores twice in friendly win
Leeds United defeated SC Verl 4-1 in a behind-closed-doors friendly in Germany on of the club's summer signings were on show as the two sides competed over two 60-minute Piroe netted Leeds' first two goals, with Wilfried Gnonto and Lukas Nmecha scoring after the interval.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Mateo Joseph tells Leeds he wants to leave and chooses not to join pre-season camp, says Daniel Farke
Mateo Joseph has asked to leave Leeds United and refused to join the club's pre-season training camp in Germany, according to manager Daniel Farke. The German said he accepts Joseph's decision and will not stand in his way, but Leeds will only sell when another club meets their asking price. The 21-year-old made 39 league appearances last season, starting 11 times and scoring three Championship goals. Joel Piroe, the division's eventual Golden Boot winner, proved to be Farke's first choice striker, while the addition of Lukas Nmecha has only added competition to the club's frontline. Advertisement Patrick Bamford has already been told he is surplus to requirements, but Farke wanted Joseph in Germany for this week's pre-season camp. The Spain under-21 international declined to play in Saturday's Manchester United friendly and Farke excused that due to his delayed pre-season start. However, speaking after Tuesday's 4-1 win over SC Verl, Farke says the story has since moved on. 'He came to me, and to us, and said he wants a new challenge and would like to have a move,' he said. 'He has also hinted he prefers a move to Spain due to his Spanish roots and, yes, that was more or less his call. 'We just want players who are excited about the project to play with Leeds United in the best league in the world, here in the Premier League, who want to be here with us and want to be successful with us. 'If this is your wish, I, as a manager, won't stand in the way and (I) accept this because I just want players who want to be here and are buzzing. I've said, 'Okay, Mateo, I accept this, I won't stand in the way'. 'On the other hand, it's also clear we, as a club, have invested a lot in him: time, money, backing and he is on the long-term contract and we value him. One thing is also for sure, we will just make a move possible once there is a club who meets the expectations of the club.' Real Betis have made several bids for Joseph already this summer, added to the £10million bid which was rejected in January. Leeds sources, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, had maintained, until last week, the striker was not for sale. Farke has made clear it will be for the board to decide what fee would be required to buy Joseph, but, as the manager, he will not stand in his way. His advice to Joseph, while the situation remains unresolved, was to continue training with the team, but the Spaniard elected to remain in England. Advertisement 'I've spoken openly and honestly with him about the situation and have strongly recommended, until the situation is sorted, he should do the job and be professional,' said Farke. 'He said he's not in the mental state to do this. 'What should I do? I can't call the police to drag him here on the training pitch. It was his decision. For that, he trains at the moment in England, individually, and will then also train with under-21s at Thorp Arch.'
New York Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Leeds 4-1 SC Verl: Why were four players absent? How did the strikers perform?
Leeds managed a 4-1 win on Tuesday in their second game of pre-season. The match was the first behind-closed-doors friendly of their ongoing training camp in Germany. While there had been an expectation that Leeds fans would be able to attend such fixtures this summer, last month it was announced that they would be played without spectators. Leeds played Sportclub Verl, a third-tier side. The game consisted of two 60-minute halves, with a different line-up from Leeds in each one. Joel Piroe scored the first goal of the opening period in the 25th minute. Harry Gray received the ball centrally with his back to goal, held off a challenge, spun and then played in Piroe, who fired the ball home. Leeds doubled their lead after 40 minutes, with Piroe scoring from the penalty spot after a Verl defender erroneously handled in the box while believing the ball was dead. Advertisement Pascal Struijk thought he had made it three in the 49th minute when he headed in a Daniel James cross, but he was flagged for offside. This meant the score at the end of the first hour stayed at 2-0. Leeds did score a third in the 76th minute, with the fixture's second set of players on the pitch. They broke after a Verl turnover in the Leeds half, Largie Ramazani pushing forward down the left before cutting inside and feeding Wilfried Gnonto, who took the ball around the goalkeeper. Summer signing Lukas Nmecha then scored his first goal in a Leeds shirt in the 91st minute. Charlie Crew played a lovely pass into the channel for Ramazani, who beat his defender and rolled the ball into the box for a tap-in for the 26-year-old Germany international. Verl got a consolation goal in the 119th minute through Jonas Arweiler, who ran onto a short pass before rounding Karl Darlow to score. The Athletic's Beren Cross analyses the match. Leeds XI for the first 60-minute half (4-2-3-1): Meslier (Cairns, 40); Chambers, Bijol, Struijk, Gudmundsson; Gruev, Longstaff; James, Piroe, Harrison; Gray. Leeds XI for the second 60-minute half (4-2-3-1): Cairns (Darlow, 81); Bogle, Rodon, Ampadu, Byram; Gruev (Chadwick, 91), Longstaff (Crew, 81); Gnonto, Tanaka, Ramazani; Nmecha. A win over their third-tier opponents was always expected but Verl, it must be said, were better than anticipated. They moved the ball around well at times against Leeds sides who looked just as rusty as they should in a match played on July 22. However, after some good saves from Darlow and Illan Meslier, Leeds came away with the commanding victory they would have hoped for. Even better for manager Daniel Farke, two of his strikers, both confidence merchants, were among the goals. Advertisement Gray may not have found the net himself but he was highly impressive with his assist to Piroe for the opener. While he wore the No 9 shirt, Piroe started the game playing the No 10 role. Gray dropped into the centre to receive a pass 30 yards from goal with his back turned. The teenager spun and played Piroe in behind with a through ball that he latched onto and lashed home. The Dutchman's second of the day may have been a penalty, but he will never avoid the chance to see that net ripple. This friendly was Gray's lengthiest appearance for the first team, though the 16-year-old had frustratingly few chances at goal. Nmecha was his replacement at the start of the second period and rolled in the fourth of the afternoon's goals. The new signing from Wolfsburg led the line and was very active. His work rate was high and he never stopped pressing the opposition back line. He was alert to the break which saw Ramazani roll him the ball for his goal. Ultimately, today was another decent workout for a group who will be anticipating a first-rate striker being added to the mix before the summer transfer window closes on September 1. Of the Leeds United players in Germany, there were four excluded from Tuesday's matchday squad. Anton Stach, the £17.3million arrival from TSG Hoffenheim, whose arrival was announced on Tuesday morning, was missing from the teamsheet. The Germany international had not received international clearance from FIFA in time for kick-off on Tuesday. Stach took a seat in the stand, alongside Sebastiaan Bornauw, Brenden Aaronson and Isaac Schmidt. Bornauw limped out of training on Monday morning with a quad injury, and he is now expected to be missing for a fortnight. The friendly with AC Milan in Dublin on August 9 may be the next time he plays for Leeds. Advertisement Schmidt has been training on his own with the club's medical staff over the past few days. The Swiss international missed Saturday's draw with Manchester United due to a calf issue, and he continues to recover from that. Aaronson only arrived at the camp in Germany on Tuesday morning. This game came too soon for him in his pre-season preparation. As Leeds plot their way through these friendlies, especially those where Farke opts to use two different XIs, it's natural to establish whether he has a preferred side. Of the two line-ups which started each 60-minute period, the second was arguably the stronger. Alex Cairns, Sean Longstaff and Ilia Gruev were the only three players to survive from the team which ended the first hour. The additions of Jayden Bogle, Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu, Ao Tanaka and Wilfried Gnonto made it look more like the favoured XI. However, Gabriel Gudmundsson is highly likely to be ahead of Sam Byram at left-back, Jaka Bijol or Pascal Struijk would expect to partner Rodon in defence, while Ampadu's fate most likely ends in midfield. Daniel James and Joel Piroe were missing from the second half too, and they are surely in the strongest XI right now. Clearly, neither side is likely to be the team that faces Everton in their opening Premier League game — expect a mix of the two. Every player comes into pre-season at a different fitness level, of course. They are all professional and expected to be in decent shape, but it's up to Farke to dish out the minutes he sees fit in each of these friendlies. Ilia Gruev started on Saturday in the 0-0 draw with Manchester United. He was ignored for the flurry of half-time changes by Farke in Sweden. He went beyond the hour mark there and was only substituted in the 86th minute. Advertisement The Bulgaria international then started again in Germany on Tuesday. Like many of the starters against Verl, he was expected to be removed after the first 60-minute period. However, yet again, he was overlooked and kept plugging away. Gruev was not removed until 90th minute, when Farke beckoned his final substitute, teenager Rhys Chadwick. Gruev has been Farke's marathon man in these opening days of pre-season. In a position where things have suddenly become crowded at Leeds, following the addition of Sean Longstaff and Stach to Gruev, Ampadu and Tanaka, the No 44 might expect to tumble down the pecking order. Pre-season minutes can never be a guarantee of competitive starts, but Gruev must be encouraged. The 25-year-old was solid on Tuesday. He brought bite and intensity to a midfield battle that Leeds were always likely to win against German third-tier opponents.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Leeds complete £17m Stach signing from Hoffenheim
Leeds United have signed Germany midfielder Anton Stach from Hoffenheim in a deal worth £ 26-year-old, who has two international caps, has joined on a four-year becomes the sixth summer signing for Leeds, who were promoted to the Premier League after winning the Championship last season. He follows Sebastiaan Bornauw, Jaka Bijol, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Lukas Nmecha and Sean Longstaff in joining manager Daniel Farke's squad for the 2025-26 campaign."I am excited to join such a good team, such a good Premier League team, and I am looking forward to the next season," said Stach, who is 6ft 4in."My style of play, I would say I am an aggressive player. I am good in duels. I am good at anticipating passes from the opponents and it would be good for the Premier League. Now we will see, I will try my best." Stach has previously played with compatriot Nmecha as the pair helped Germany win the European Under-21 Championship in added: "The biggest target is to stay in the league and personally just develop, adapt to the league, to the speed of course and then get many good experiences hopefully."
New York Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Manchester United 0-0 Leeds United: A new formation, a new-look attack, goodbye Bamford?
Leeds United got their 2025 pre-season programme underway with a 0-0 draw against Manchester United in Stockholm on Saturday. There were debuts for the five new arrivals Leeds have drafted in this summer, while Patrick Bamford's absence arguably commanded the biggest headline of the day. Quality in both boxes was lacking from the two attacks, but this was always about the Leeds players banking minutes in their first outing of the summer. The majority of the squad Farke took to Sweden was given 45 minutes apiece, with a few minor exceptions. The team travels to Germany next for a week-long training camp, where two further friendlies will be played behind closed doors… Rumours of Bamford's omission began to circulate on Friday night. Saturday's teamsheet confirmed the club's No 9 of the last seven years had been left at home. After 205 appearances, 60 goals, two Championship titles and one England cap, Farke is ready to draw a line under Bamford's time as a Leeds player. The centre-forward has only started 40 of the club's 171 league games since August 2021 and did not start at all in the Championship last term. Advertisement With the arrival of Lukas Nmecha, who has actually played fewer minutes than Bamford over the past four seasons, the continued pursuit of Rodrigo Muniz, Joel Piroe's golden boot and the rise of Harry Gray, the writing was arguably on the wall for Bamford. In his absence, Nmecha and Piroe got the nod on Saturday. The former's biggest battle this season is likely to be with his body, but if he can stay fit, he offers another physical outlet for the team. The Germany international dropped deep to link up play at Strawberry Arena and showed strength when he took the ball down with his chest, defenders at his back. He missed one or two passes in behind for an on-running Wilfried Gnonto, but that will come with more minutes alongside each other. Piroe did, by stark contrast, see and execute those passes. No conclusions can be drawn from this one game about what the coming season holds, but as the Dutchman dropped in, he showed poise, flair and vision in threading passes into space for Daniel James and Largie Ramazani. The through-balls were not perfect, but there was promise in what Piroe was trying to do. Mateo Joseph was the other striker conspicuous by his absence from the matchday squad. Farke was far less definitive with his comments on the Spaniard's future. He seemed to suggest it was Joseph's decision to sit the game out because he did not feel ready after a slightly delayed return to training after Spain under-21 duty. If Leeds do land Muniz, as they hope to, that leaves him, Piroe, Nmecha and Joseph competing for one berth, with Gray hoping to pick up cameos. That's a crowded striker department and the interest in Joseph from Spain has never gone away. As a low-cost arrival, Joseph would generate meaningful profit and sustainability (PSR) headroom if he fetched an eight-figure fee too. However, Leeds insisted he was not for sale when they rejected a loan (with purchase option) offer from Real Betis this week. While Jayden Bogle seemed to pick up where he left off last season, this was a first sight of Gabriel Gudmundsson as United's left-back following his transfer from Lille. As early as the fourth minute, Bogle was getting bums off seats. The right-back darted into an ocean of space on the opponents' left flank and carried the ball into the penalty box. He put in a dangerous cross, but it did not result in anything too troubling for the Manchester outfit. Advertisement Piroe's aforementioned creativity combined with Bogle to create one of United's best chances in the second half. The forward took a lovely touch around pressure and then slid Bogle in down the right channel after a smart run in behind. Evidently, Bogle will need to do a lot more defending next season than last, but this was a refreshing reminder of the damage he can wreak when he raids forward. Gudmundsson's highlight reels suggested he was an aggressive and progressive ball carrier, but we got to see it in Leeds colours on Saturday. The Sweden international lost the ball once or twice, but impressed with his front-foot defending. He was happy to get forward too, underlapping and even joining Piroe in the penalty box on a couple of occasions. The sheer number of midfielders Leeds have been linked with this summer had always suggested Farke may be pivoting to a three-man central unit. Captain Ethan Ampadu, Ao Tanaka and Ilia Gruev came into the summer with hopes of starting regularly next term, but Sean Longstaff has arrived on a package worth up to £15million ($20.1m) and Anton Stach will sign for a fee in excess of £17.3million ($23.2m). In a 4-2-3-1 system, that's three quality players missing out every week. Here, Farke experimented with a 4-3-3, though he tried a back-three in last summer's opener at Harrogate Town and we barely saw it again after that, so don't read too much into it. Ampadu played at the base of the three as the anchor in front of the defence, while Gruev and Tanaka alternated between No 8 and No 10 roles on either side of him. Their main task was to contest the middle of the field, but show a willingness to break into the final third when the front three had possession. Tanaka showed some especially neat synergy with Gnonto as the first-half's right winger. Gruev was keen to join in with attacks, while Ampadu got his hands dirty with Bruno Fernandes in the engine room. Advertisement Longstaff showed some classy touches and patience on the ball, but, again, it's hard to take too much from 45 minutes in a friendly after barely 48 hours with his new team-mates. While Bamford was unequivocally excommunicated on Saturday, the door was left ajar for the man who hadn't played in United colours for more than two years. Not only was Jack Harrison in Sweden, but he was starting on the left flank. A shirt number of 38 for a winger who previously wore 22 and 11 at the club does not scream 'first choice starter on August 16'. If Harrison was definitely going to figure in Farke's plans next season, he surely would have been given a far more considered shirt like those worn by Longstaff (eight), Gudmundsson (three) or Jaka Bijol (15). And yet, his presence in Sweden shows Farke has not consigned him to the same cast-off list as Bamford, Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood et al. Harrison's got another three years on his contract, his wages are significant and his attacking output with Everton did not turn heads. Wherever he ends up at the end of the transfer window, Harrison has at least, as of mid-July, been given an olive branch he may not have expected when he returned for pre-season. All he can do is train to the best of his ability and carry out everything Farke asks for. For now, the manager is citing the examples of Junior Firpo and Brenden Aaronson as out-of-favour Leeds players who have won the crowd back. Whatever your stance on that pair's respective arcs, Farke's describing them that way and mapping out how it's possible for Harrison to reintegrate. Harrison did not catch the eye during his 45 minutes in the Swedish capital. We await the coming friendlies to see how the narrative around him develops. Top photo:
