Daniel Farke is known for his consistency in selection and likes having a small squad. He decided against signing anyone in the winter window to ensure that the spirit inside the squad doesn’t get disrupted. The Leeds United boss often talks about the need for the entire squad to step up but there are players in there who have barely received any game time this season as Farke has continued to trust a small group of trusted personnel. However, one of those Leeds outcasts is set to get a chance to represent his national team next week and it’s a call up that will surprise many at Elland Road in the coming days.
Leeds United eased some of the pressure that has built up in the last week with a comfortable 2-0 win over Millwall at Elland Road on Wednesday night.
The Whites will look to post three more points on the board when they travel to London to take on Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road this weekend.
The league season will go into an international break next week and the focus will shift on national team performances for a couple of weeks after Sunday.
Several top performers in the Leeds squad will report for national team duty after the weekend and it is a testament to the kind of football they have played for the Whites this season.
However, a certain Leeds player is set to get called up to the national team this week despite doing next to nothing in a Leeds shirt this season as he has hardly played any football.
25 minutes of Championship football for Leeds United all season, but is set to play for the national team next week
Leeds signed Isaac Schmidt towards the end of the last summer transfer window but fans are still trying to understand why he was brought in for the season.
He started the two FA Cup games for Leeds but the defender has played just 25 minutes of Championship football across seven substitute appearances.
However, even his last league appearance came towards the end of December and has been warming the substitute’s bench since then.
Daniel Farke has not felt the need to bring him on for games in the Championship for close to three months but he is now set to play for Switzerland next week.
According to Swiss daily Blick, Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin is set to give Schmidt a surprise call up to the national team this week.
He is preparing for Switzerland’s friendlies against Northern Ireland and Luxembourg and wants to test as many players as possible ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The defender has hardly played for Leeds this season, but Yakin wants to take a look at him closely and see whether he has been unlucky at Elland Road this season.
Leeds fans would be surprised
Schmidt was brought in as cover for Junior Firpo at left-back, but Farke used other players over the Swiss when the first-choice full-back was injured.
In fact, the defender featured as a right-back in his two appearances in the FA Cup and it is hard to know why Leeds signed him last summer.
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Leeds fans have not formed an opinion on Schmidt as he has hardly played and it is difficult to assess whether he is good enough to be at Elland Road.
However, with him set to play for Switzerland, the supporters would feel curious to know what Yakin has seen in him that Farke has failed to see this season.
Farke wants his squad to come to the fore, but it would be a major shock if Schmidt gets any meaningful game time in the final nine fixtures of the season, even if he impresses for Switzerland next week.
