Pundit identifies Leeds United "alarm bells" with Luke Ayling name-dropped | OneFootball

Two areas of concern have been raised regarding Leeds United's promotion chances

Fears have been raised regarding Leeds United’s chances during the final phases of the Championship promotion battle, with major deficiencies in Daniel Farke’s side raised.

The Whites dropped points for the third time in the five Championship matches when they drew away at Queens Park Rangers last weekend.

Farke’s side had been two goals behind, rallying back to 2-2 in order to at least take a point from Loftus Road, but Leeds’ advantage at the summit of the division has been reduced to just goal difference, with Sheffield United level on points with them and Burnley only two points behind.

Lack of experienced leaders hurting Leeds United’s promotion hopes with Luke Ayling name-dropped

Leeds’ stuttering form has arrived during a crucial period in the Championship promotion race, with the Whites slipping back into the clutches of their rivals after key wins over Sheffield United and Sunderland.

Pundit Sanny Rudravajhala mused that Leeds’ wobble ahead of the final stages of the season could be down to a lack of experience, as he shared an anecdote of time spent with the Leeds squad, pointing out how stalwart Luke Ayling had been a big influence in the dressing room.

Since last season, Leeds have lost veterans Liam Cooper, Stuart Dallas and the aforementioned Ayling, leaving behind quite a young squad at Elland Road.

Current captain Ethan Ampadu has struggled with injury this season and hasn't always played, but the Welshman is quite a young skipper at the age of 24 and may not have the kind of influence in the dressing room that a Cooper or Dallas had.

Out of the six players over the age of 30 in Leeds’ squad, only two – Joe Rothwell and Sam Byram – have started over 10 games in the Championship this season.

Speaking on The Guardian’s Football Weekly podcast, Rudravajhala shared: “Just on Leeds, I do think there are some alarm bells.

“In this game (against QPR) late on, Manor Solomon got off and then had a few histrionics on the sidelines.

“The silly mistakes, the goals - the goal from Steve Cook, he was completely unmarked and the first goal for QPR, they just gave they gave the ball away.

“(Brenden) Aaronson just gave it away to Saito inside the area.

“Last year, before the last (transfer) window, I did a shoot with Sky with all the Leeds players and Luke Humphries, the darts player, and the one thing I came away from it was what a nice guy Luke Ayling was.

“He wasn't quite in the team, but he was just bringing everyone together and being this guy that was getting everyone really like focused.

“He also brought a bit of levity as well. He went off to Boro (Middlesbrough) and now he's now he's there, and I wonder how many senior players they've got.

“I know “where's all the experience” and all that sounds a bit of a cliché.

“But they are missing a bit of that. It is quite a young squad.

“When you see stuff like Solomon going off and having a bit of a hissy fit, when they've got such quality and talent coming off the bench as well, Willy Gnonto, for example, I do wonder where that what's coming from.”

Daniel Farke called out by pundit for lack of Leeds United "Plan B"

Rudravajhala also identified another supposed flaw that could limit Leeds in the final eight games of the Championship season.

Despite leading the goalscoring charts, Joel Piroe’s suitability to the striker role in Daniel Farke’s system at Leeds has long been questioned.

Pundit/journalist Rudravajhala believes that Leeds lack an alternative option to the Dutchman, specifically a more physical and traditional striker to lead the line.

QPR's powerful striker Michael Frey, who led the line for Leeds’ opponents at the weekend, was cited as an example of what Leeds were missing.

Rudravajhala continued: “The other major thing, I think, for them is although Joel Piroe is topping the goal scoring charts, he's not a traditional number nine.

“He's not a physical presence and the plan B recently has been Pascal Struijk, a centre-half popping up with some goals.

So I do think they do they are a bit limited in what they can do, and I wonder whether having that experience, having something else, having a quintessential English striker like Michael Frey, who is actually Swiss, would have been a great option for them for QPR.

“They're kind of missing that other option.

“I think that is a bit of a worry for them in the run in that's coming now.”