How Leeds United’s players fare at Euro 2024

Leeds captain Liam Cooper was always going to head to the Euros with Scotland. Unfortunately, his limited appearances for Leeds last season meant that Steve Clarke did not fully trust the 32-year-old to compete in one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events, and Cooper spent most of of time warming up the bank of substitutes.

And in hindsight, maybe Clarke should have called on Cooper’s experience. While no one expected Scotland to go deep into the tournament, they probably expected to put up more of a fight. Being a consummate Scotsman, it must have hurt Cooper to sit on the sidelines while his country exited the tournament as quickly as they arrived.

The good news for Cooper is that his limited role means he will return to Leeds completely refreshed once the break is over. Although the club and the player have yet to agree on a new deal, they are expected to do so soon.

It has been a mixed tournament so far for Max Wober, the Leeds-owned player who spent last year on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach. The own goal, which he scored under relatively minimal pressure, gave France a 1–0 victory in Austria’s opening game. Fortunately, his error came early in the tournament, meaning there is plenty of time to make things right. Austria are halfway up the bet365 Euro odds list to win the tournament, but stranger things have happened. Austria have proven to be the dark horse of Euro 2024, so there is more than a small chance they can pull off an unlikely victory. If Wober can regain his composure and help his country reach the later rounds of the tournament, then his early error will be all but forgotten.

Rasmus Kristensen is a curious case. He’s at the Euros as a genuine Leeds player, but he hasn’t played for them in a while – and may never again. He spent last season on loan at AS Roma and you have to imagine Kristensen would be happy to move there. Unfortunately, the Roma club is unlikely to make a permanent deal.

As things stand, Kristensen should find new suitors if he is to leave Elland Road this year. Normally, a Euro tournament would be the ideal place to showcase yourself. Unfortunately for Kistensen, he’s been on the bench for the vast majority of the tournament, meaning only those heading to the Danish training camp (nobody) will get to see how skilled he is on the ball.

Having drawn all their group games, the Danes will go into the final rounds of the tournament knowing they are hard – or at least not easy – to beat. However, after scoring just two goals, they will have to figure out how to bubble in the back of the net. If they can go the distance, and Kristensen can find his way on the pitch, then there’s every chance the right-back will feature in a Leeds shirt next season. After all, Farke has shown that while he can be ruthless in getting rid of players he deems not to be of a good standard, there is always room for players to return to the fray.

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