Leeds United have injuries to the likes of Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe and Graham Smyth has the latest verdict on the situation.
Leeds United are currently injury-hit, and Joel Piroe and Lukas Nmecha are struggling with issues ahead of the trip to Fulham at Craven Cottage.
It’s not all been bad news, despite the fact Joe Rodon withdrew from the Wales squad. That’s because Graham Smyth is reporting Rodon should make the Fulham game tomorrow.
Farke did confirm reports that Lucas Perri is sidelined. Farke also said that Nmecha and Piroe have suffered knocks during training and are doubts. But who caused them? Graham Smyth has speculated.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty ImagesGraham Smyth’s view of Jaka Bijol
Leeds’ Jaka Bijol was ‘rattled’ on international duty. However, Leeds paid around £15 million to sign Bijol but the 26-year-old is yet to play in the Premier League.
Bijol is adamant he will come good for Leeds but one frustrating cup performance against Sheffield Wednesday is all he has to show for it.
Graham Smyth has questioned whether that is a factor in any of this. Speaking via The Inside Elland Road podcast, he said: “The question marks he does have are over Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe.
“Nmecha took a kick on his foot in training. Piroe took a kick to the calf. Who is going around kicking everyone?
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“Who’s kicking people at Thorp Arch? Who do we reckon it is? Who’s the angriest man? Possibly Rodon. But it’s most likely to be Bijol, isn’t it? Because it’s two forwards that have picked up a kick.
“And we know from when I interviewed Nmecha and Piroe, both of them said that Bijol does like to leave one on you late. But really, if you’re Bijol, you really need to be leaving one on a center-half, don’t you?
“Because that’s your route into the team. He’s got that wrong. I think if this is a Netflix true crime, we’re going to be looking at motive and Bijol not starting. He’s probably, you know, maybe a bit more angry.
“But he’s picked the wrong victim, hasn’t he? He’s got to be leaving one on Rodon or on Struijk.”
Bijol’s incredible aerial dominance as a centre-back has yet to be seen but it is why he is described as such a warrior, and the defender will hope his chance is imminent in West Yorkshire.
Graham Smyth on who starts as the Leeds striker against Fulham
Then speaking about alternatives to the potentially injured duo, Smyth added on Calvert-Lewin coming in: “I don’t see why not at this stage. He’s a month into team training, isn’t he?
“You know, he didn’t have pre-season. They will be cautious with him because if he breaks down earlier in the season, then the decision to sign him suddenly looks pretty terrible.
“You know, you absolutely have to manage him and you have to make sure that you get the most possible minutes out of him across the season.
“You can’t just think, ‘we need a striker for Fulham’. It has to be, ‘we need a striker that can play a lot of minutes between now and the end of the season’. So, I think if they do take that decision, they’ll be very very careful with it.
“But Nmecha, he’s played a fair bit. His match fitness would be probably sharper because he’s had a longer pre-season as well. If he’s only had a little kick, I don’t know that it would rule him out of starting.
“So, I think there’s still a little bit of intrigue there as far as Fulham go in terms of predicting what Farke might do.”