Farke’s ‘most important’ player is Leeds’ ‘difference maker’

Elland Road can be an intimidating place for opposing teams, as Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham United found out the hard way on Friday night.

Leeds United’s famous pitch was shaking after Daniel Farke’s Whites scored twice inside the opening 15 minutes, with a late effort from the away side’s Mateus Fernandes not enough to rid the hosts of their second Premier League home win this season so far.

Now Farke’s men have three road games in November against tough sides such as Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City, making it intriguing to see where the West Yorkshire side stand in the top table after all their travels next month.

The German hopes Sean Longstaff continues to play in these high-pressure situations, with the former Newcastle United midfielder already proving to be a bargain, after his services were secured for a cool £12million in the summer.

Longstaff’s impressive performances at Leeds

It shouldn’t come as the biggest shock, however, that Longstaff is well equipped with what it takes to succeed in the Premier League, having racked up 171 high-profile appearances on the Magpies’ books.

Yet he wasn’t always popular at St James’ Park, as the Newcastle-born star often took a back seat. In West Yorkshire, however, he has been one of Farke’s main men so far this season, with the 27-year-old even winning Leeds’ Player of the Month for September.

He was also a deserving winner, with Longstaff’s scoring chances total for the season already standing at 17, which is only eclipsed by Manchester United prop Bruno Fernandes.

The former Tyneside prodigy went on to have a good tally of a goal and two assists next to his name in the Championship.

But it’s not just in his attacking ability that the complete midfielder shines, with an impressive five duels also won on average during his nine top-flight outings in the whites of Leeds, confirming Magpies great Alan Shearer’s previous claims that Longstaff is an “incredible” talent.

It’s even led to cries that Longstaff is “one of the best signings in the PL”, period, according to journalist Daniel Storey. However, there could be an even bigger part of the puzzle available to the former Norwich City boss in this exciting attacking star.

Leeds United’s most important player

There are arguments all over the pitch over who might be Leeds’ most important cog, with Joe Rodon surely a favorite in that regard, as the pragmatic Welshman headed another goal last time out to lead the Whites to a 2-1 victory.

Still, if Rodon were to get injured, Farke would at least have Pascal Struijk to rely on. Similarly, suppose that Longstaff is himself the victim of a stroke. In this case, the promotion-winning manager also has Ilia Gruev in reserve, knowing that Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka will do an excellent job of being just as sharp and combative if necessary.

Unfortunately, Farke isn’t as fortunate with the same levels of depth in attack, with Brenden Aaronson having to fill in at right wing against the Hammers, which he did effortlessly. Fortunately, Leeds haven’t had to rely too much on a cordy Jack Harrison this season on the opposition’s left channel, as Noah Okafor has launched into the Premier League without too many problems.

The Swiss international – who already had a European pedigree in the building with the likes of AC Milan – has been a breath of fresh air on the left as a straightforward and keen option, with journalist Oscar Mario claiming Okafor is Leeds’ “most important player” as he “elevates the game of everyone else around him” by being a “class difference maker”.

Indeed, at the very start of the season it looked like Leeds were going to struggle to be a front-foot team on their return to the tough Premier League.

However, with Okafor constantly bombarding down the left – as evidenced by his incredible six successful dribbles against Wolverhampton Wanderers in September – Leeds look less likely to retreat into their shell and potentially accept their relegation fate. It also helps that he has an end product to show for all his quick darts so far, with two strikes already next to his name.

It will be a complete team effort that will ensure Leeds don’t fall straight back to the Championship, but with Farke having already dropped a Leeds stalwart in Dan James for Okafor, he will surely be a key player between now and May.