Ex-Man Utd star feels Premier League is ‘missing’ Leeds United as he picks out his two key Whites performers

Former Leeds United and Manchester United midfielder Gordon Strachan has backed Daniel Farke as the man to guide the Whites back into the Premier League. Leeds sit third in the Championship after 15 games, and are only kept out of the top two by hugely-impressive starts from Leicester City and Ipswich Town.

Farke’s men have now won at Ipswich and Leicester, however, beating the former 4-3 in August while securing a 1-0 win over the Foxes last week. Leeds’ endured a somewhat inconsistent start to the season but Strachan feels that was partly down to a hangover from their poor form at the end of the 2022-23 season as they were relegated from the top flight.

However, Leeds have put those memories firmly behind themselves with five wins in their last six Championship outings as they continue keep pace with the top two. Speaking to ICE36, Strachan said: “I was delighted with the Leeds result against Leicester. Daniel Farke is a manager that knows the Championship inside and out – he knows how to get teams promoted. I think that Farke will take Leeds back to the Premier League, if not this year, then certainly next.

“They got off to a stumbling start. I think the reason for that is because the players still had a hangover from how the Premier League season finished for them – they limped out of the league and were really poor in the run-in. That takes time to get over. It’s not easy to get over such poor performances – it can be hard to shake off.”

Glen Kamara, a summer signing from Rangers, was given the man of the match award following the win over Leicester and Strachan feels the Finland international, alongside youngster Archie Gray, has given the Whites some much-needed freshness.

He added: “Glen Kamara and young Archie Gray have given the team some freshness. The players that weren’t really involved with relegation have given them a boost. It’s great to see Leeds doing well. There’s no doubt about it, when I watch the Premier League games at the weekends, there is something missing with the omission of Leeds. The quicker Leeds get into it, the better the Premier League will be for it.”

Strachan joined Leeds from rivals Man United in 1989 and helped lead the club to the first division as the Whites won the second division title in 1990. He was then part of the Leeds side to lift the 1992 top-flight league title before the first division was rebranded to the Premier League.