Daniel Farke not 'dancing on tables' over Leeds United man display or praising teen too early

The pair caught the eye as second half substitutes against Nottingham Forest in Thursday night's friendly. Poveda was a livewire out wide and then in the centre, scoring a goal to cap an entertaining performance. Gray followed up a solid showing against Monaco by playing a part in Poveda's goal and displaying his ability to beat defenders with the ball.

Poveda's time at Leeds appeared to have come to an end when he was first farmed out on loan to Blackburn in 2021, despite Victor Orta's insistence that the winger would come back and play a part. The summer of 2022 saw him sent away again, this time to Blackpool where he had a loan spell with ups and downs.

Yet while Poveda was an unused substitute against Monaco, his cameos against Manchester United and Forest have been enough to change the narrative around him, at least outside the Leeds camp. At Thorp Arch, Farke is pleased with what he's seen from the 23-year-old, he's just not throwing praise around with reckless abandon.

"It's totally up to the players that they make the step through the door," he said after the 2-0 win over Forest. "It's difficult to prove it. It's not just after one or two good friendlies that I'm here dancing on the tables because of his performance.

"He has to keep going. He has to work unbelievably hard. I'm pleased with his development so far and that's the reason why he gets some gametime and some chances but after one or two good games I'm not willing to sing a big song of praise about him, so he has to keep going."

Gray, still six years Poveda's junior, was expected to make a senior breakthrough last season under Jesse Marsch, who predicted in pre-season that the teenager would play in the Premier League.

Illness, injuries, an accident at home and Leeds' relegation battle denied the club's first family from celebrating a new generation of Elland Road representation. But Gray is still right there on the doorstep and his proximity to the first team makes a league debut a distinct possibility. Farke has made clear he still needs midfield reinforcements in the transfer market but he likes what he sees in Gray.

"I'm not about age, if a 17 or 18-year-old guy is ready then he plays that's as simple as that, but if you want to be ambitious, you need also a proper core group of players," said the German.

"With Archie I'm pleased with him so far. He's in a really good shape. He's physically in a good condition. He has shown some really good performances in pre-season but I've also seen what he has to improve, where he has to improve.

"What I like about him is he's willing to learn, he's greedy to get input and adapt to the stuff that we give him. He's on a good path but it's pre-season so far, not one proper game is played so I'm not willing to praise him too early."