New Leeds United coach Javi Gracia admits he has already been impressed by midfield duo Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams since taking over at the Premier League outfit, speaking to Leeds Live.
McKennie and Adams were one of the most influential midfield partnerships at the Qatar World Cup; a bundle of energy and intensity in the red, white and blue of the USA.
Carry over those performances onto the club stage and Leeds will have a few more clean sheets under their belt between now and June. The all-action Americans were integral to Saturday’s hard-fought 1-0 win over fellow relegation battlers Southampton at Elland Road.
Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams could help keep Leeds United up
“My opinion about the game is that we had the control. Not only because we had these two players in the middle – they did a good game. But because we were balanced. We defended well,” Gracia explains.
“We were more compact in long balls, strong defending with two midfielders.
McKennie and Adams both made three tackles against the Saints (WhoScored). No one in Leeds’ team managed more; the Gracia era beginning with three potentially season-defining points on home soil.
“We were compact,” the former Watford boss adds, McKennie and Adams likely to start again during Tuesday’s FA Cup quarter-final clash with an in-form Fulham.
“All the games are different. All the rivals are different. But we started playing this game (against Southampton) and we did it well.
“These two midfielders gave us the balance we need in the middle; defending and creating and attacking as well.”
Victory last weekend was only Leeds’ fifth in this Premier League season; secured by Junior Firpo’s first in the division. Gracia now turns his attention to the FA Cup, looking to emulate his success at a Watford side who reached the final in 2019 thanks to a remarkable, Gerard Deulofeu-inspired semi-final comeback against Wolves.
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