Several Leeds United stars are in action for their national teams as the three-week international break disrupts the club season.
Leeds have made a solid start to their Premier League season, and that has led to several players being called up for their national teams during the first international break.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin returned to the England squad after scoring three in the opening five Premier League games, and James Trafford’s England stature grew after a good start at Elland Road.
Ilia Gruev returned to competitive football with an appearance for Bulgaria and is now expected to be in the squad when Leeds travel to Arsenal after the international break.
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23-year-old Leeds star confirmed to start again on Tuesday night
James Trafford started in England’s 3-2 defeat against Spain on Saturday night, and came under some criticism for conceding three goals.
The Leeds goalkeeper could not have done much to prevent those goals or compensate for the schoolboy errors the England defenders made against the world champions.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed that Trafford will start again when England take on Czech Republic in the Nations League clash on Tuesday night.
He stressed that the plan was for the 23-year-old to play two of the four games during the break as the England staff want to see how far Trafford has come.
“Jordan [Pickford] has done absolutely nothing wrong”, Tuchel said after the defeat against Spain.
“But we want to use this competition to see how far James is in these two weeks. He gets these two matches.
“I am convinced that it is better to get two matches than one so that he can learn from what happened and be a part of the defensive and offensive build-up unit.
“So, he needs the next match as well.”
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An upgrade for Leeds who deserves to establish himself as England number one
Karl Darlow’s move to Manchester United raised understandable questions about how Leeds would cope between the posts, particularly after the club also allowed Lucas Perri to leave on loan.
Those concerns have quickly disappeared. Leeds had clearly identified James Trafford as their preferred solution, and bringing the England international back to Elland Road has proved a major upgrade.
Trafford has looked increasingly assured since taking over as the No.1. His shot-stopping has already saved Leeds points, while his composure and command of the area have added another layer of security to Farke’s defence.
His performances should also strengthen the argument for giving him more opportunities with England. Trafford is still competing for a place in a talented group of goalkeepers, but the way he has established himself at Leeds suggests he deserves a proper chance to show what he can do at international level.
For Leeds, meanwhile, the contrast with Darlow and Perri is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. They now have a goalkeeper who looks capable of being their No.1 for years to come.
Let’s hope the defence pull their socks up, they were non existent on Saturday evening they cannot expect the goalie to be in defence as well as in front of the net.
At Leeds Trafford has a damn good defence in front of him and they all work well as a team.