Daniel Farke hints at timeline for Leeds United free agent search | OneFootball

Leeds United are currently in the market for a free agent signing due to significant injury issues

Daniel Farke is confident that Leeds United can secure a free agent signing in the coming days or weeks.

The Whites are in the market for a new addition to their first team squad due to significant injury issues in midfield.

Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev are both on the sidelines with long-term absences, leaving the Yorkshire outfit with just Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka as senior first team options in that area of the side.

A move for Cheikhou Kouyaté was being pursued, but Football Insider have reported that a failed medical led to that transfer being cancelled.

A number of names have been linked with a potential move to Elland Road since, including World Cup winner Christoph Kramer, per Football Insider, as well as Joshua Guilavogui, via Leeds Live.

Daniel Farke opens up on Leeds United transfer pursuit

Farke has explained the process behind deciding what player that Leeds want to sign at the moment, stressing an ability to cover at centre-back, as well as play in midfield, would be an added bonus.

The German is hopeful a signing will be completed soon, but warned whoever comes in will be seen as a secondary option once everyone is back fit.

“It’s most important not to speak about names but the profile is important,” said Farke, via Teamtalk.

“We’re thin on the holding midfield option.

“Ethan was our first choice, the back-up would be Ilia.

“We’re also a bit thin on the centre-back position.

“Max [Wober] is out and was not really available since he came back in the summer, although he’s a bit ahead of schedule.

“We have to keep in mind Pascal [Struijk] had an injury record in his CV, Joe Rodon is on four yellows.

“In an ideal situation we’d bring in a deep-lying midfielder who could also cope with the centre-back position but he needs to accept a role where the main man comes back, Ethan is first choice, and our centre-backs.

“He would come in to be a back-up solution, to bring his experience and teach and educate our young players.

“He should come in with the attitude to improve them.

“If a young player is struggling with the pressure with playing for a club like Leeds United, to not crack, we need a player who has experience and this mentality.

“This is what we’re searching for.

"It’s not easy, but we have a few ideas and I’m carefully optimistic that we’ll have the chance to bring a good solution in the coming days or coming two weeks.”

Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev injury timelines

It was reported by The Athletic that Ampadu will miss up to 10 weeks of action, meaning a potential return to fitness in January.

Meanwhile, Gruev is set to be absent for a number of months, having suffered a knee injury that required surgery, according to the BBC.

The pair had started each league game available to them before picking up major injuries, leading to seven and eight appearances in the Championship this season, respectively.

Next up for Leeds is a home game against Watford on Tuesday evening in a 7.45pm kick-off.

Leeds won’t have a wealth of options at their disposal

The market for free agent signings won’t be stacked with a ton of options for Leeds to choose from, so they may have to just find the best deal they can at this stage.

Anyone that comes in is likely to need a couple of weeks to get up to full match fitness, and will have to agree to a short-term contract.

Someone like Kramer could be a good option given his experience of top flight football, as well as being a World Cup winner from 2014.

The longer they take to bring someone in, the closer Ampadu gets to coming back anyway, meaning the Whites should be looking to get this deal done this week or next if possible.