Daniel Farke was the reason Adam Forshaw did not re-sign for Leeds United in the summer.
Forshaw was out of contract at Elland Road at the end of the season but had the opportunity to extend his stay with the club following the offer of a new deal.
Alongside Joel Robles, Forshaw was invited to join up with the rest of the squad for pre-season, an offer both players declined, and in his latest piece for the Athletic, Phil Hay has now shared why.
Leeds and Forshaw had arranged the terms of a new deal on reduced wages but Farke told San Francisco 49ers Enterprises that he wanted to see him train first due to his recent injury record.
Forshaw would’ve found himself in a similar situation to that of Sam Byram, who was invited to Thorp Arch over the summer to prove his fitness, which he did emphatically, before being offered a deal.
Farke showing ruthless side to old guard
However, according to Hay, Forshaw was reluctant to return to Leeds for pre-season without the guarantee of a contract, amid interest from other clubs.
As such, Forshaw amicably decided to end his five-and-a-half-year injury hit stay at Elland Road, eventually joining Norwich City on a free transfer, amid interest from Saudi Arabia.
Alongside the likes of Liam Cooper, Luke Ayling and Patrick Bamford, Forshaw had long been part of the furniture at Leeds, but Farke has slowly, but surely moved away from those players.
Ayling was left out of the squad completely on Wednesday night, while Cooper and Bamford are now very much playing second fiddle to players ahead of them in their respective positions.
All of them still have a huge role to play in the dressing room, but in terms of on the pitch, they have seen their involvement reduce dramatically this season for the first time in several years.
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