Leeds United man with 128 minutes played in league this season could leave in January – Phil Hay

After being left out of Leeds United’s team away at Hull City yesterday night, Charlie Cresswell may contemplate leaving the club if his lack of playing time does not improve.

Leeds’ squad depth has really grown dramatically since relegation, with many more alternatives to occupy the bench this season than in past seasons with true game-changers.

With such a large team, Daniel Farke will have to make some difficult decisions when it comes to excluding players from the matchday group.

What happened to Charlie Cresswell?
Liam Cooper returned to the team for the trip to Hull City on Wednesday, but he also replaced Charlie Cresswell on the bench.

Cooper may not have expected to play, but he was quickly called into action when Joe Rodon was sent off on 60 minutes, prompting Daniel Farke to reorganize his team.

Cresswell will have been disappointed to be left out of the team, having only made one league start this season, away at Birmingham, and come off the bench twice, against Cardiff City and Ipswich Town, for a total of 128 minutes played.

Is he allowed to leave?
Phil Hay of The Athletic has claimed that if his condition does not improve, Leeds could lose the centre-back in January.

Hay revealed this about the 21-year-old on The Square Ball podcast:

“It was notable that Cresswell was not included in the squad.” He has sparked a lot of interest. If he’s not knocking on doors or in the squad, you have a hunch he’ll start looking elsewhere.

“I don’t know how many games you imagine him playing, but with Rodon, Struijk, and Cooper – despite everything, he is an England U21, he just seems to be down the pecking order, which is not ideal for him.”

Sunderland and Middlesbrough were interested in Cresswell during his loan stay at Millwall last season.

You can’t blame Cresswell for leaving in January if we continue to pass him up, which seems likely given our squad depth.

When Junior Firpo returns, he will be another defender in the squad, which means we won’t see him much.

He’ll be on the bench tomorrow when Rodon’s ban begins, but after that, he’ll be fourth choice and bound to be disappointed.

If we do sell him, we’ll have to pay a large fee after he signs a new contract.