The Whites have been in fantastic form since the start of the year, winning 10 of their previous 11 league games, following a difficult holiday season.
Leeds defeated Stoke City 1-0 at Elland Road on Tuesday to get back to winning ways after being held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
Dan James’ goal in the first half proved to be the winner, although the relegation-threatened Potters, who saw Ben Pearson sent off late in the game, made them fight hard for the three points.
Daniel Farke’s team may climb into the top two if they defeat Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough tonight. Currently, they are two points behind Ipswich Town in second place in the table.
As the countdown to kick off continues, we rounded up all the latest news from Elland Road.
Spence responds to Farke in kind
After making an impression in the Championship with Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest, it was considered a coup for Leeds to capture defender Djed Spence on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.
Farke reportedly became dissatisfied with Spence’s performances and his tardiness to team meetings and training sessions, as the player made only seven appearances for the Whites prior to the termination of his loan agreement in January.
“Obviously, it’s important — the potential and the quality of the player, but also professionalism, discipline, workload on and off the pitch and also the soft skills, also if he’s positive and committed, good for the group and engaged with these topics,” Farke said in an interview with The Athletic regarding his departure. We don’t differentiate between players on loan and those on permanent roster; our criteria are quite high. We are quite particular about this subject.”
Although Spence is now on loan at Genoa in Italy, he has addressed Farke’s assertions by challenging what he sees as an inaccurate portrayal of himself.
As Spence stated to The Athletic, “I don’t think that’s fair at all.”
“I may not necessarily concur with their statements. However, that’s just the way it works in football; you have to keep your head down, persevere, and eventually disprove people.
A section of it seems a little exaggerated. If you are not participating, being late can cause issues; however, if you are participating, it won’t.
“I went there, things were going well, then I got injured. I got quite a bad injury to my knee, then I came back but I was still getting pain. I came back and was playing a bit but I was playing on the wrong side (at left-back). It wasn’t easy. It didn’t get the best out of me, everyone wants to play in their best position.”
Whites enter player competition for Fenerbahce
Bright Osayi-Samuel, a winger for Fenerbahce, was linked to Leeds in December, and it seems the Whites are still interested in the 26-year-old.
Aksam claims that Leeds, Wolverhampton Wanderers of the Premier League, Crystal Palace of the Premier League, and Rennes of the French top division are all interested in Osayi-Samuel.
Before joining Fenerbache in January 2021, Osayi-Samuel played for Queens Park Rangers and Blackpool in English football. Since moving to Turkey, he has shown promise.
Osayi-Samuel has made 27 appearances in all competitions this season, despite being used as a right-back this time around. He has three goals and four assists, and there are plenty of suitors before the summer transfer market opens.
Expert predicts a promotion
The fight for automatic promotion is fiercely contested; Leeds and Ipswich have both been unstoppable lately, and Leicester’s poor performance has made the Foxes’ lead in the standings smaller.
Despite their recent inconsistency, Southampton is still in the running for the top two spots. They now have a game in hand after Preston North End’s Wednesday night match was postponed because of a fire near St Mary’s.
Notwithstanding his “soft spot” for the Whites, pundit Danny Murphy predicts that Leicester will win promotion and that Leeds or Ipswich would finish in second place.
Murphy stated on talkSPORT that “the Leeds game was unbelievable in two of the three games that I saw.”
“They made a tonne of chances and played incredibly well.
“I believe Leicester City will cross the finish line, and then it will be between Leeds and Ipswich Town.” I have a slight soft spot for Leeds, so I was cheering for them against Leicester the other week.”
