🔵 Leeds United 4–1 SC Verl: Terror Twins Emerge as Farke Shapes a Bold New Premier League Identity
By [Your Name] | July 2025
Leeds United’s return to the Premier League this summer is being shaped not only in the transfer market but also through a crucial set of pre-season fixtures that are already beginning to reveal Daniel Farke’s tactical intentions, squad hierarchy, and the club’s future stars. Their recent 4–1 win over German side SC Verl may have been just a pre-season friendly, but it offered genuine insight into the team’s readiness, cohesion, and competitiveness ahead of the top-flight challenge.
The match, played across two 60-minute halves, allowed Leeds to flex their muscles and stretch their legs after an intense first few weeks of pre-season. While results in July are often irrelevant, performances are not. And against SC Verl, Leeds didn’t just win — they impressed.
Let’s dive deep into the significance of this performance and what it tells us about where the club stands right now — tactically, physically, and emotionally — in their Premier League preparation.
⚽ Match Recap: Leeds 4–1 SC Verl
On paper, it was a routine win for a Premier League side over a 3. Liga outfit. But there’s no such thing as a meaningless pre-season game for a manager like Daniel Farke, who takes every fixture as a tactical laboratory. Leeds looked dominant from the start and dictated the tempo of the game.
Joel Piroe scored a sharp brace, showcasing his finishing and positional awareness.
Willy Gnonto grabbed a well-deserved goal with a driven low shot after cutting inside.
Lukas Nmecha, one of the club’s six summer signings, opened his account with a composed finish.
SC Verl netted a late goal in the 119th minute, a minor blemish in what was otherwise a controlled performance.
Beyond the goals, the pressing, passing patterns, and in-game adaptability were clear indicators of the work being done behind the scenes. Leeds are building something with identity — fast, fluid, and fearless.
👀 Tactical Observations: Farke’s Blueprint in Motion
Farke has always been associated with a possession-based system, but his approach is evolving. Rather than slowing play down with methodical build-up, this Leeds side is being trained to play with speed, verticality, and smart positional rotations. There’s a greater emphasis on wing play and direct transitional moments.
Key tactical traits on display:
Full-back advancement: Gabriel Gudmundsson and Archie Gray were given license to overlap and underlap the wide players. This gives the wingers freedom to drift centrally.
Double pivot experimentation: The midfield was rotated between more traditional box-to-box roles and a double pivot featuring a deeper playmaker, often pushing the wingers higher into half-spaces.
Winger interchange: Ramazani and Gnonto frequently swapped flanks, confusing their markers and creating openings centrally for Piroe and Nmecha.
Pressing triggers: Leeds hunted in packs, especially after turnovers, with Ramazani and Gnonto acting as the first line of counter-press. Their pace and aggression set the tone for a higher-intensity press than seen in parts of last season.
🌟 Breakout Duo: The Rise of Ramazani & Gnonto
The main headline from this game wasn’t the result — it was the rise of two players who now look like they could define Leeds United’s identity in 2025/26.
🔥 Largie Ramazani: From Fringe to Fan Favourite?
Ramazani was electric. His two assists were just the statistical surface of a performance that oozed confidence. He carried the ball with intent, skipped past defenders with ease, and delivered precise passes in the final third.
Despite only starting nine games last season, Ramazani managed seven goals, often appearing off the bench to inject pace and energy. Now, in pre-season, he’s making a strong case for being a starting winger. Fans took to social media after the game calling for him to be a regular starter, and there’s a growing belief that Leeds have a Premier League-ready winger who was underused last season.
“If Ramazani played more last season, the left & right would be Prem-ready by now,” wrote one fan.
Another added: “Our very own Terror Twins.”
Farke seems to have taken note. Ramazani’s chemistry with Gabriel Gudmundsson on the left flank — overlapping, quick one-twos, and inside runs — was perhaps the standout tactical thread of the night.
💫 Willy Gnonto: Back to His Best?
Gnonto had a mixed 2024/25 campaign. At times dazzling, other times inconsistent. But now, in this new-look Leeds system, he looks reborn. There’s maturity in his decision-making, better body positioning, and sharper link-up play.
His goal came from a classic inverted winger move — cutting in from the left and unleashing a low, hard shot into the far corner. But it wasn’t just the goal. His interplay with Ramazani was fluid and instinctive. The two have reportedly struck up a friendship off the pitch, and it’s starting to show in how they play together.
Gnonto is now entering the crucial stage of his development — no longer the exciting teenager, but a 21-year-old Premier League winger who needs to deliver consistently. If he stays healthy and maintains this form, he could be one of Leeds’ most valuable assets.
🔁 Transfer Activity: Paixão, Nmecha & More to Come?
Leeds have already made six signings this summer — including Lukas Nmecha, who scored his first goal for the club in this fixture. There’s a clear attempt by the recruitment team to build a squad with:
Pace in attack
Ball-playing defenders
Depth in midfield
Wing competition
👀 The Igor Paixão Question
The club has been linked with Brazilian winger Igor Paixão, who would bring flair, creativity, and unpredictability to Leeds’ attack. Interestingly, Ramazani has already responded to the rumours — not with insecurity, but with ambition. His attitude signals that he’s ready to compete.
If Paixão arrives, it would add to the already competitive battle between Gnonto, Ramazani, Dan James, and Jack Harrison — a player whose Leeds future remains in question.
⚠️ Jack Harrison: Problem or Opportunity?
Jack Harrison is an enigma in this pre-season.
On the one hand, he’s still clearly a Premier League-calibre winger. On the other, he is no longer a guaranteed starter, earns high wages, and was even booed by Leeds fans in a recent match against Manchester United.
His status is hanging in the balance.
Harrison’s Dilemma:
Wages: Among the highest at the club — a financial strain if he’s not a starter.
Competition: Clearly behind Ramazani, Gnonto, and James.
Fan sentiment: Mixed, possibly beyond repair.
Manager’s stance: Open to him staying — if he proves himself.
He has been training with Sam Chambers, a promising academy product, but his future may depend on how many more wingers Leeds bring in.
“A parting of ways may still be best for all parties,” the report suggests — and it’s hard to disagree. Unless injuries or form force a rethink, Harrison could be the odd man out.
🧠 Squad Depth & Projected Line-Up
🧩 Wingers:
Starters: Ramazani (left), Gnonto (right)
Rotation: Dan James, Paixão (if signed)
Uncertain: Jack Harrison, Mateo Joseph (occasionally used wide)
⚔️ Forwards:
Joel Piroe (main striker)
Lukas Nmecha (support striker/false nine)
⚙️ Midfielders:
Kamara, Ampadu, Gray, Summerville (rotating box-to-box roles)
Possibility of a new deep-lying playmaker still being explored.
🛡️ Defence:
Gudmundsson is cementing himself at left-back.
Struijk and Rodon look to be the main CB pairing.
Right-back still open — Archie Gray currently rotating there.
🧤 Goalkeeper:
Illan Meslier still #1 unless a new keeper is brought in.
🔮 What This Means for 2025/26
Leeds United are not just trying to survive in the Premier League — they’re aiming to establish an identity, compete dynamically, and put trust in youth blended with experience.
The emergence of Ramazani and the resurgence of Gnonto point toward a club willing to reward form over reputation. Farke is clearly using pre-season not just to build fitness, but to shape a new hierarchy.
If this trend continues — and if Leeds add the right pieces before the transfer window shuts — they could surprise a few people next season. There’s enough pace, energy, and tactical cohesion in this side to not just survive the Premier