Leeds United’s injury crisis in midfield this month sparked a discussion around the possibility of a free agent signing to bolster depth, but Christoph Kramer is unlikely to be an option in that case.
Daniel Farke’s side overall looks to be more than strong enough to compete for the title once more in the Championship, but the last fortnight has been damaging.
Long-term knee injuries for Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev leave Leeds with just two senior midfielders in the squad, and only two senior centre-backs too after Max Wöber’s knee surgery.
Missing a number six potentially until January is not an ideal situation that Farke finds himself in, even if Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka ran the show against Sunderland on Friday.
Looking at the free agent list available to Leeds, the names present in October aren’t totally ideal given the lack of action between their release in May and now – five months to be exact.
Ex-Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Christoph Kramer (33) stands out as one of the better options, given his vast experience in the top flight, and his previous links to Farke when the German was in charge at Gladbach in 22/23.
Other names include former Villarreal duo Etienne Capoue and Francis Coquelin, and previous target Edouard Michut.
Now, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post, the chances of Leeds signing Kramer on a free in the coming weeks is seen as unlikely.
That is due to the 33-year-old being more willing to remain in Germany and pursue other opportunities instead, including television work:
“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.”
Leeds have between now and January to find a solution to their lack of midfield depth, and a free agent makes some sense at face value.
The problem you have is that if someone like Kramer signed tomorrow, he’d need at least month to get up to speed, and by then, it’s November and we’re much closer to to the window opening and he’d be yet to find match sharpness.
It might be worth it to have bodies in the door, but fortunately for Leeds, the run of fixtures after Sheffield United is quite favourable.
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Leeds United season ticket holder since 2013/14, currently situated in the middle of the FA5 noise. From Pablo Hernandez to 5-1 drubbings, I’ve seen it all at Elland Road.
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