Leeds United boss Daniel Farke proud but rules out one transfer with 'horrendous' verdict
Leeds United boss Daniel Farke doesn't like to talk too openly about specific transfers but there is one he can rule out definitively.
The Whites boss was in the 'special' position of managing against his own son in Paderborn on Saturday. Leeds took on the German second tier side in a behind-closed-doors friendly and ran out 3-2 winners. Farke's teenager Luis Engelns was in the starting XI for the opposition and gave a good account of himself, showing a number of tidy touches and a willingness to try and get on the ball and dictate in midfield. Engelns, who goes by that name out of a desire to be judged on his talent rather than his familial links, made a senior breakthrough last season and made 12 appearances in 2. Bundesliga.
The Leeds boss would not be drawn on the specifics of his son's performance but admitted it was a proud moment to come up against him with Leeds.
"To be honest, I find it always a bit difficult, once I'm concentrating on our game, to analyse too much the individual players and the performance of the opponent," he said. "I'm struggling a bit to judge the individual performance but of course, a bit of a special day today, and then also the moment when you can joke a little bit within the family. And yeah of course a proud day, a little bit. But yes, it was more or less a pre-season friendly for them. So there were some prouder moments when he had his debut at 17, and has delivered top performances there and got lots of praise. Definitely great to see my son on the pitch."
Farke, who shared a grin and a brief hand shake with his son when Engelns was substituted in the second half, has completed his midfield picture at Leeds this summer with the addition of Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff. When quizzed on whether he would ever be tempted to bring his son to Elland Road the answer could not have been more resounding.
"I would never, ever sign my son," he said. "That's definitely not the plan, because it would be horrendous for me. It would be horrendous for him. Apart from this, he's definitely a type of player that I like, there's no doubt about this. But as a father you also have to be a bit strict, I can't praise him too much. so for that, it's good that he's here [at Paderborn]."