Daniel Farke has had the opportunity to speak in detail about some of Leeds United’s new arrivals for the first time.
The recent international break came at arguably the worst possible time for Leeds with the end of the transfer window finally allowing Farke the chance to have a settled squad.
Unfortunately, however, 12 first team players have been away with their respective countries in the 12 days that have followed Leeds’ win over Hull City.
Due to the late return of Brenden Aaronson, that means he still has not had a full day on the training pitch with all of his players ahead of this weekend’s game against Burnley.
But with the international break now firmly in the rear view mirror, Leeds can now look towards a period of five matches in three weeks, where there will be plenty of opportunities for the new signings.
Farke makes admission on how Isaac Schmidt has settled at Leeds
Three of Leeds’ four late window signings were involved in some capacity last time out against the Tigers, with Isaac Schmidt the only player unable to make his debut.
Unlike both Manor Solomon and Ao Tanaka, though, Schmidt has had the opportunity for the last couple of weeks to really settle at Leeds both on and off the pitch due to his lack of international commitments.
And according to Farke in his pre-match press conference, Schmidt has really used this period at Thorp Arch to do exactly that.
The Leeds boss says Schmidt has not taken long to be loved by his new teammates, and is looking to forward to helping him develop at Elland Road.
He said: “Great guy, still a really good age, on his way up the hill in his career. Desperate to play for the shirt, great mentality. The lads love him already, but you have to keep a bit in mind, he has not played in one of the top five leagues in Europe.
“The Premier League for me is the best in the world, but the Championship is the toughest with the load and physicality. We will give him time to adapt to this. We have some proper options in the full-back position.
“He’s an important squad player, we will bring him to the door, work with him, lift his potential and it’s up to him to grab it with both hands. He has lots of potential and also a great mentality, character, lots of competition for him.”
Farke says Ao Tanaka has also settled at Leeds
Though he has had significantly less time than Schmidt with his new teammates, Farke confirmed fellow deadline day arrival Tanaka has also settled well.
Farke revealed how Tanaka’s sense of humour has already had an impact on the dressing room, which should hopefully bode well for on the pitch, too.
He said: “A bit same like Isaac, he hasn’t played on the top level for a while. Obviously he comes from the second tier in Germany so we’ll give him time to adapt. First glimpses are promising, I liked his cameo, he’s shown there has good passing choices.
“Good sense of humour, really like him, good to have around, it’s difficult to predict right now he will have the best midfielder in the league, lots of competition in this position.”
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