Sheffield United boss reveals how he beat Leeds United to transfer as Burnley dealt injury concerns ahead of Whites clash

Leeds United head into the first international break of the 2024-25 campaign with an unbeaten Championship record after drawing two and winning two of their first four fixtures. The Whites moved fourth in the table with a 2-0 win over Yorkshire rivals Hull City at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon.

Daniel Farke’s side are level on points with Blackburn Rovers in fifth while Watford sit third on nine points with West Brom second and Sunderland, who are the only side with a 100 per cent record after four games, topping the early standings.

Daniel Farke will now be preparing for a key game at home to Burnley on September 14 at 12.30pm as some of his squad head off on international duty. Leeds have the chance to make an early statement against one of the sides expected to challenge for promotion. The Clarets sit sixth with seven points from their opening four games.

Injury concerns for Burnley

Burnley have been handed some injury concerns ahead of next week’s meeting against Leeds after defender Maxime Esteve and forward Manuel Benson picked up issues against Blackburn Rovers last weekend. Benson was linked with a move to Leeds during the summer transfer window but he has remained at Turf Moor.

Providing an update after the game, Clarets boss Scott Park said: “I’m not sure at this present moment in time, I’ve not spoken to them. Benny obviously just walked off so I don’t know the full severity of his injury and Maxime looked to be struggling with his hamstring, so we will have to check that.”

Parker already has a host of injuries to contend with as Jordan Beyer, Hannes Delcroix, Hjalmar Ekdal, Aaron Ramsey, Enock Agyei, Mike Tresor and Nathan Redmond are all out of action. However, the former Fulham manager has said some of those players could return to face Leeds. He added: “There’s maybe a couple. Enock will probably be back after the international break, he’s progressed quite well, so we’re probably looking at him.

“The others are probably a bit slower, Delcroix maybe after the international break, maybe he’s a bit closer. But maybe the others are a bit off that.”

Wilder discusses Rak-Sakyi signing

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder said he made reference to the Bramall Lane atmosphere when trying to convince Crystal Palace youngster Jesurun Rak-Sakyi to move to the Blades. Leeds and an unnamed Premier League club reportedly had £15m bids turned down for the 21-year-old, with the Eagles keen to keep him on the books at Selhurst Park.

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However, Palace have loaned the player out this season. The Blades, Leeds and Hull City all agreed deals with Crystal Palace for a season-long loan - with the option left up to the player. Whites boss Daniel Farke stressed over the summer that he would not offer guarantees of game time to any signing. Rak-Sakyi opted for a switch to South Yorkshire as Wilder opened up on the Blades’ pursuit of the player.

“In our pitch I said how important Bramall Lane was,” Wilder told The Star. “There were two £15m bids for him and three-quarters of the Championship sides in for him as well. Part of the pitch was him feeling what he felt today [in a 1-0 win over Watford]. For him, for Jamie Shackleton, for Michael Cooper, it was big and hopefully they've enjoyed their first win in a red-and-white shirt.

“He [Rak-Sakyi] is going to be a player. There were two big bids for him to Crystal Palace, one out of our division and one out of the Premier League. We beat off a whole host of Championship clubs. All the players wanted to come here. And if I was a player, I'd want to come here on days like today as well."