Truth behind Leeds United signing World Cup winner on free transfer revealed after Daniel Farke fitness comments

The YEP understands any Leeds approach attempting to lure the 33-year-old on a short-term deal is likely to be rejected with the player's intention to remain in Germany where he has appeared regularly as a television pundit, following a decade-long spell with Borussia Monchengladbach.

It follows rumours which have circulated on social media that Kramer could be an option to provide defensive midfield cover during the coming months whilst Ampadu and Gruev remain in the treatment room.

Daniel Farke made public his thoughts on the signing of free agents midway through the season, however this was prior to receiving the results of Gruev's scan which revealed a meniscus repair would be required, keeping him sidelined for a number of months.

“If I’m really honest, I’m not a big friend of signing players who are out of contract in the beginning of October, because it means they are out of team training since May, that means out of team training [for] five months," the Leeds manager said ahead of his team's trip to Sunderland on Friday night.

“Even if you bring them in, it also [takes] a while until they are ready to go, fit and really can play first-team football."

Farke briefly managed Kramer at Gladbach during the 2022/23 season, a period in which the two reportedly built a rapport, sources in Germany claim.

Kramer has been without a club since the summer and unlike other free agents, such as John Egan who joined Burnley after spending a number of weeks in training with Scott Parker's side prior to signing, and Leeds' own Sam Byram last summer, is not thought to have been in a professional setting since the end of last season.

The 33-year-old played a bit-part role with Gladbach last term, managing just 250 Bundesliga minutes, spread across 14 appearances and a further two outings in the DFB-Pokal, totalling 106 minutes on the pitch.

Under Farke, he was a regular playing 29 times and accruing over 2,000 minutes as Gladbach finished tenth in the 18-team German top flight, occasionally captaining the side.

His preference was to remain with the club until the end of his contract this coming summer, but to have greater involvement than last season under first-team boss Gerardo Seaone. Once it became clear this would not be the case, a mutual termination agreement was sought between the club and player, leaving Kramer a free agent.

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Injuries have also taken a toll on the World Cup winner with five muscular and/or ligament issues, illness, infection and fitness problems causing him to miss a cumulative 26 matches since the beginning of the 2021/22 campaign. Undoubtedly, though, with 271 Bundesliga appearances to his name, Champions League outings and 12 Germany caps, Kramer would at least add experience to Farke's young group, let alone insurance if Ao Tanaka or Joe Rothwell were to become unavailable.

"I think it’s professional to check [free agent options] and sometimes out of coincidence or a special situation, there could be someone who suits the needs at the moment - I think it’s one of our professional duties to check," Farke added on Wednesday.

“But I’m not a believer of doing these signings in October - let’s see. We wait a little bit for a positive outcome on Ilia’s scan, if there’s a shocking diagnosis that he’s out for a month, then of course we have a look, but I can’t confirm we would do something."