MOT View: Farke could now be set for another key Leeds departure as contract news drop MOT Leeds News
According to Last Word on Sports (25 July), the Elland Road sensation has seemingly put contract talks at the club on hold as he is waiting on interest from two unnamed Premier League clubs.
The 20-year-old centre-back looked primed for a key role in the Whites first team following two key departures already in the Leeds United defence with both Llorente and Koch sealing loan moves away to AS Roma and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively, leaving the Farke potentially short of options at centre-back ahead of the new campaign.
Austrian international Max Wober also looks set to depart Elland Road, with the defender currently in talks with German Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach over a potential loan move away.
Those exits now leave veteran Liam Cooper, and Pascal Struijk as Farke’s only two remaining senior centre-backs alongside Cresswell, and the development of his immediate future certainly comes as a major cause for concern for the German boss and the whole club.
Despite the academy product saying in an interview on Tuesday (25 July), as per the Yorkshire Evening Post, “That is my dream, ever since I was a little boy, I wanted to play for Leeds United,” it is now claimed by Last Word on Sports (25 July) that Cresswell won’t sign an extension to his contract, expiring in 2025, amid top flight exit links.
“Last Word on Football understands from reliable sources that Charlie Cresswell is currently holding out on signing a new deal with Leeds United, as there are ‘two Premier League clubs interested in him”, the report writes
Neither of the prospective English top-flight suitors have been identified as yet, but it is evidently clear now where Cresswell sees his immediate future, having already undergone a tremendous Championship campaign last season with Millwall.
Cresswell featured prominently before suffering an unfortunate eye socket injury in the closing months of the campaign, scoring four goals and two assists from 28 Championship games with such form sparking plenty of interest in his services.
Certainly, first-team guarantees are what the talented 20-year-old will be searching for when he returns this summer, but considering the profile of the squad being built at Elland Road, with vibrant and fresh young players at the forefront of their project, it would be incredibly baffling if Leeds allow Cresswell to depart, especially with three senior centre-backs leaving Elland Road.
Whilst registering impressive six-goal contributions as a centre-back, Cresswell helped the club to five clean sheets, averaged 1.3 interceptions, 1.5 tackles, and 3.1 clearances per 90 whilst winning 61% of his aerial duels, 58% of his ground duels and 60% of his total duels [SofaScore] which certainly shows a defender very capable of taking the step up to the Premier League.
It remains to be seen whether the 20-year-old defender would form a part of Farke’s first eleven when for their season opener against Cardiff City on 6 August, but after this latest contract news, the whole club will now be in a real state of panic
