It came as a bit of a surprise to hear Daniel Farke speaking so honestly following Saturday’s late defeat to Fulham, basically admitting he wanted new Fulham star Kevin, but Leeds United couldn’t sign him.
With Leeds largely dominating proceedings, Marco Silva brought on Fulham’s new record signing Kevin, for the final 15 minutes. The Cottagers paid a huge £34.6m to lure the Brazilian to London in the summer.
He changed the game. Instantly, Kevin chipped in a cross to Ryan Sessegnon who almost found Sasa Lukic to score. Then, his incredible cross for Adama Traore saw the powerhouse winger head over the bar.
A one-two on the edge of the area saw Kevin have a go himself, Karl Darlow tipped his curling effort over the bar. Gabriel Gudmundsson’s own goal came from the resulting corner. Farke hinted he wanted Kevin.
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty ImagesWhat Daniel Farke said about Fulham star Kevin, post-match
Leeds obviously wanted an attacking option, also trying to sign Rodrigo Muniz and Harry Wilson from Fulham. Kevin would have been a superb signing, judging by his excellent cameo against Farke’s Leeds.
Farke said: “You create chances, force a goalkeeper to make a save, win a corner, and create a situation. I’m not surprised, I was aware of his quality, the only bad thing is that sadly, we couldn’t afford him.”
The pressure is on Farke, but it’s not really his fault. Farke asked for attackers before the end of the window, outlined the need for them, but Leeds failed to deliver Wilson, Kevin or Facundo Buonanotte.
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty ImagesThomas Christiansen’s reasons for his 2018 sacking sound similar
Back in 2017, Leeds hired former Barcelona player Thomas Christiansen. The Dane made a brilliant start to life at Elland Road, even though he lost Chris Wood. Christiansen gave fans hope of a possible promotion.
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But it didn’t materialise. The winter period saw Christiansen lose Samu Saiz for six games due to spitting. After his sacking, Christiansen is quoted by The Mail as saying Leeds couldn’t afford to replace Saiz.
Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images
“Saiz was our most important player in the offensive part of the game and we couldn’t afford to buy a new one. Suspensions and injuries piled up. The squad wasn’t big enough for us to replace those players.”
Unable to maintain a promotion push due to the likes of Saiz becoming unavailable, Christiansen was giving his marching orders. Farke asked for more, but got nothing and now, the sack is foreseeable.
Failure to pick up a win against Wolves, Bournemouth and Tottenham will see the pressure pile on Farke before the October break. That is why Farke’s comments are ominous, given Christiansen’s Leeds exit.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty ImagesWhat has Thomas Christiansen done since his Leeds United exit
It took Christiansen almost 18 months to find himself a new role, after his 35 games in charge at Leeds. He joined Union Saint-Gilloise in the summer of 2019, who are now the current Belgian champions.
Christiansen lasted just 31 games, but his decision to manage Panama has been inspired. Six years later, Christiansen remains in charge at Panama. He took Panama to the 2023 Gold Cup final against Mexico.
Panama remain hopeful of a place at the 2026 World Cup and that would see Christiansen back on the world stage. The Dane is impressing in charge of Panama, having been perhaps unfairly sacked at Leeds.