Leeds United manager Daniel Fark watches with a friendly pre-season (Photo: Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images)
Leeds United midfielder Ilia Gruev finds himself at the heart of the Bulgarian headline after suggesting that he caused controversy at the National Team Camp.
According to Bulgarian outlet TemaSport, the 25-year-old reportedly brought strong criticism against both his teammates and head coach Illian Illiev following Bulgaria’s 3-0 defeat to Spain.
The claim suggested that Gruev’s words made the team uneasy and led to his exclusion from the lineup for the match against Georgia. However, the Bulgarian Football Association reportedly claimed he remains a part of the team.
Ilyev eventually held the Leeds man on the bench, but was defeated 3-0 by Georgia and introduced him at halftime.
Tackling the controversy, Ilyev tried to downplay the report. Talked to a local outlet facti, he insisted:
“Explain to the person who said the scandal was explained. If there was anything wrong with him, do you think he would have been on the team? After his injury, he played one of his strongest matches for the national team.”
The coach further reflected on the challenges of managing under public scrutiny, adding:
“Understand me the way you want it to. I said what I said. The important thing is, all occupations are difficult, but ours in particular are public.
Leeds United are worried about Groof’s fitness
While the scandal stole the headline, the greater concern about Leeds may be Gruev’s fitness. He featured for 45 minutes despite carrying a knock. This suggests that the injury is not serious, but will be evaluated when he returns to England.
Manager Daniel Fark is currently facing a growing headache. If Gruev is ruled out, Leeds will be desperately shorter in the middle midfield.
The German coach has been leaning heavily towards compact midfield units this season, adding depth to maintaining results.
Leeds United’s big dilemma is that will gruev help cover an already exhausted midfield?
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