Raphinha, injury issues and Leeds United questions facing Jesse Marsch at Brisbane Roar press call

Marsch is due to meet with the media at 2.30pm local time [5.30am Wednesday BST] at the Roar’s Gold Coast base to discuss Thursday’s opening game of the Queensland Champions Cup.

The head coach ran his players through their first proper training session of the tour Down Under on Tuesday at the venue for this week’s game, with every player bar Liam Cooper playing a full part in proceedings. Cooper was put through an individual routine with a physio on hand, as his team-mates worked on progressing play from back to front, in pouring rain on the Gold Coast.

Agenda

Raphinha is high up on the agenda for Marsch, although the American may not be able to offer much in the way of new information. Leeds are now closer to an agreement than ever with Barcelona for the Brazilian international, who the YEP understands was open to travelling to Australia with the Whites. It was thought, however, that with the way talks were progressing between the two clubs, the prospect of Raphinha needing a medical and potentially having to fly to Spain to complete a deal made it impractical for him to fly to the Gold Coast. Instead, the winger has been going in to Thorp Arch to train. Leeds had been offered £60m by Chelsea, which would be paid up front, and although Barcelona may only get close to that sum with the help of add-ons, Leeds’ stance on being paid the transfer fee in one initial payment has not changed. Expect Marsch to address the situation in some way at his press conference.

Injuries and fitness updates will also play a part in his meeting with the media. Junior Firpo did not travel having picked up a knock quite early on in last week’s game against Blackpool and Marsch may choose to address the extent of the left-back’s issue along with any thoughts Leeds have about potentially dipping into the transfer market to strengthen in that area. Leif Davis has travelled and took part in training, so would be expected to start against Brisbane Roar – particularly after Leo Hjelde limped out of yesterday’s training session. Marsch does, however, also have Pascal Struijk who could play at left-back if needed.

The availability of Cooper for the Brisbane Roar friendly is another topic for Marsch to get stuck into along with the possibility of bringing in a striker at some point during the tour. It’s now clear Leeds will be highly unlikely to land Charles De Ketelaere with the Belgian’s heart set on a move from Brugge to AC Milan and Victor Orta is assessing the Whites’ alternative options. The Whites currently have Patrick Bamford fit and ready, along with Joe Gelhardt – who appeared to take a slight knock to the thigh during training but was not in any real discomfort – and Rodrigo.

Elsewhere in the squad Marsch has some selection decisions to make, even if he plans to rotate players for the three matches on Tour. In the centre of midfield, where last season he was light on options, the head coach has a high number of options to pick from including new signings Tyler Adams, Marc Roca and Brenden Aaronson. Also vying for a start in the middle are Adam Forshaw, Mateusz Klich, Archie Gray and Sam Greenwood.