Leeds United’s center back Charlie Cresswell is currently in a difficult scenario where he is finding it very difficult to get playing time because Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu are the two center backs who are locked down.
Charlie Cresswell, who spent a loan at Millwall, was among the peripheral players who knew their chances of starting games would be considerably boosted when Leeds entered the Championship this season.
Last season, Cresswell developed into a key member of the New Den team as they advanced to the playoffs, but he is currently having difficulty getting opportunities.
Charlie Cresswell stats this season: Centre-back struggling for involvement
Due to the presence of Joe Rodon, Pascal Struijk, Ethan Ampadu, and Liam Cooper ahead of the defender in the pecking order, Cresswell is currently arguably the fifth choice at the back.
As a result, he has had extremely little playing time this season; his last club start occurred away at Salford City in August.
| Charlie Cresswell in 23/24 | |
|---|---|
| Appearances (starts) | 7 (3) |
| Minutes played | 346 |
| Goal conceded | 3 |
| Pass success | 88.8% |
| Aerials won per 90 | 3.6 |
| Fouls per 90 | 0.6 |
He penned a new contract until 2027 back in August, but there have been doubts over his future after he made his frustrations known to Daniel Farke, something that the manager took exception to, freezing him out of the squad for a period.
“Frustrating” situation unfolding for Cresswell at Leeds – Journalist
Journalist Beren Cross of LeedsLive has now offered his assessment of the center-back’s present lack of playing time, stating that he is merely regrettably behind some important players in the hierarchy.
Speaking with NewsAtDen, he said:
“It’s been a really frustrating year for Charlie. Everybody rates him, everybody knows he’s a really good centre-back and given what he did at Millwall last season, as a mainstay in a team that got to within a kick of the play-offs, there would have been no qualms at all about him starting regularly for Leeds.
“It’s just unfortunate for him that he’s the fourth-choice centre-back in the best defence in the league. So whether it was Rodon and Struijk in the first half of the season or Rodon and Ampadu in the second half of the season, they’ve just been rock solid. And there’s been absolutely no reason, unfortunately for Charlie, for Daniel Farke to change it.
“Rodon is arguably the best centre-back in the league. He plays on the right side of the defence which is where Charlie would play.”
It’s difficult to predict what the future holds for Cresswell at this point, but a departure might be imminent. Cross went on:
It’s simply been extremely annoying for him. He’s shown us so little that it’s hard to make any judgments. He participated in a couple games in August after playing little in the season’s opening stretch. But it’s incredibly irritating that he hasn’t had a kick since, either for the first team or the under-21s. We shall have to wait and see what occurs in the summer.
Cresswell’s future simply lies away from Leeds
Even while we believed Cresswell had talent, there have been times this season where his play has fallen short of that of players like Rodon, Struijk, and Ampadu.
He shown at Millwall that he is talented enough for the Championship, but putting him in the middle of a team that is vying for promotion is just not up to his current level.
More playing time will enable Cresswell to reach that level very fast, but it is simply not going to happen in this situation.
In order to receive more playing time, he must depart.
