First impressions of Leeds’ pre-season: Wilson’s flair, Longstaff impresses – but defensive lapses
Harry Wilson made his Leeds United debut in the club’s opening friendly of the summer. Wrexham, of the Championship, were the opponents in Tampa, Florida, where Leeds equalised twice, but lost 3-2 in the early hours of Sunday morning (Saturday 7.30pm local time).
Wilson, who signed as a free agent this month, played the second half in a predictably rotated line-up from Daniel Farke. Tarik Muharemovic, this summer’s other new arrival, was absent after a later start to his training programme following his World Cup campaign with Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Joel Piroe and Sean Longstaff were the goalscorers for United, who struggled with Wrexham’s counter-attacks. All three concessions came after Leeds turned the ball over and failed to neutralise Wrexham’s swift attack.
The other key headline from the game was the absentee list for Farke’s side. Key striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin suffered what the club called a ‘small setback’ in pre-season, which means he is still training individually for now. Meanwhile, centre-back Jaka Bijol was missing with a knock to his knee.
Beren Cross assesses the first impressions from this opening friendly of the summer.
Wilson and Longstaff catch the eye
After 17 goal involvements with Fulham last season, Wilson has arrived with a flurry of excitement. United beat competition for the 29-year-old’s signature and secured him for no transfer fee as a free agent.
The Wales international started on the bench, but came on at half-time, playing as the No 10 in a 4-2-3-1 shape. United failed to score with him on the pitch, but he made a swift impact across.
Inside 60 seconds of the restart, he drifted towards the right flank and went to complete a one-two with compatriot Daniel James with a backheel. It did not come off, but for a first touch in Leeds colours, it was dripping in flair.
One minute later, Wilson’s vision was on show. Sitting in the right channel, he looked across the pitch to see Wilfried Gnonto making a run in behind, from left to right, into the box.
Wilson arced a left-footed pass into the perfect space for the Italian, whose shot was hurried and saved by Arthur Okonkwo. Leeds have longed for a player looking to break defensive lines for years and in one half, Wilson showed his desire to do just that.
Longstaff, who became a peripheral figure during his first Leeds campaign, had a promising showing in the first half. He was central to both goals.
It was his run into space which unlocked Wrexham for Piroe’s goal. Ethan Ampadu went wide to James, then James went inside to Longstaff, who crossed low for the striker to backheel home.
Sean Longstaff pressed his claims for a midfield starting berth (Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The former Newcastle United midfielder was a useful presence around the edge of the area as Leeds tried to thread quick passes and break Wrexham down. It was from this position he dug out the second goal with a fine finish.
Longstaff has a real fight on his hands to force his way into Farke’s strongest XI for next season. This was an encouraging opening 45 minutes for him.
An exposed defence
In his post-match interview with club media, it was no surprise to see Farke underline the importance of minutes in the legs for his players, while pointing out Wrexham are several weeks ahead in their pre-season preparations.
The manner of the goals Leeds conceded illustrated those facts. All three Wrexham goals were similar. United would have possession near halfway or in the opposition half, lose it and find themselves caught out by a counter-attack.
In the first half, as they mixed between 4-2-3-1 and 3-4-2-1 shapes, United’s right flank was exposed. If James was downfield in attack and James Justin was tied up centrally, Wrexham had space to surge into.
Rodon would have been frustrated to see Cadamarteri and Smith each get away from him before scoring. With the former, he went to ground and did not get a decisive touch, and with the latter, he did have the recovery pace to chase him down, but was fooled by Smith’s turn inside.
Daniel Farke shows his frustrations on the touchline (Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)
Ao Tanaka was guilty of the loose touch in the centre circle, which gifted possession to Davis Keillor-Dunn for Wrexham’s counter and Smith’s winner. It was the first friendly of the summer, but those are the kinds of lapses Farke did not like in Tanaka’s game at points of last season.
Absentees and shifting shapes
Naturally for a pre-season game, when players are at varying stages of fitness, some of the biggest headlines were about who wasn’t involved. Calvert-Lewin, who is slowly turning public opinion on his injury record after an impressive 35 league appearances last season, was missing in Tampa.
Leeds say their No 9 had a ‘small setback’ in pre-season, which has kept him on an individual training programme for now. They say he is building back up to team training, before then playing in friendlies.
Centre-backs Sebastiaan Bornauw and Bijol were each carrying knocks the club did not want to risk, while Ilia Gruev continues to recover from the meniscus injury he suffered in April. Muharemovic, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Brenden Aaronson and Noah Okafor are all a few steps behind after their World Cup exploits.
It meant Farke used youngsters to make up the numbers and they only had what you would consider to be a recognised, senior XI for the first 30 minutes of the second period. There were hints of a three-centre-back system in the first half, but it was a defined 4-2-3-1 after half-time.
Rodon was the only player to complete the full 90 minutes, though Ampadu and Justin were not taken off until late on. The team now returns to their New Jersey base, before playing Sunderland at Sports Illustrated Stadium on July 31 at 12.30am (7.30pm, July 30 local time).