Former Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara is already making his mark at Leeds United with new coach Daniel Farke hailing an ‘excellent’ debut in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Watford.
He’s a funny one, Glen Kamara. The sort of player who doesn’t tend to stand out in highlight packages. A player you often miss when not really paying full attention. But take a moment, focus on him and him alone, and you will soon realise why he tends to be so valued within the the walls of the dressing room.
Kamara is, in many ways, a footballer player’s love playing with. There are few Hollywood passes, and even fewer goals. But for a possession based side like Daniel Farke’s Leeds United, the Finland international’s composure on the ball and his effort without it makes the former Rangers ace not only important but integral.
Glen Kamara impressing at Leeds after Rangers exit
“Excellent,” Farke said following Kamara’s first start in Leeds colours; the £5 million summer signing laying the foundations with his 92 per cent pass completion rate as Georginio Rutter, Joel Piroe and co ran riot at Elland Road (WhoScored).
Kamara’s performance feels all the more impressive, meanwhile, when you consider this was only his second league start since February, falling out of favour under Mick Beale at Rangers before being exiled from the first-team picture.
“He had little pre-season because there were so many rumours and talks with Rangers that he didn’t get much game time,” Farke adds, via Leeds Live. “(That) was tough for him.
“Obviously, when you come into a new environment and you’ve not played competitive games for such a long period, you need a few weeks in order to be then really prepared. I think he had also a bit of game time for Finland, I think this helped him. You could see him growing over the last two weeks or so in training.
“The last days I got the feeling; ‘okay, he looks like now that he’s really prepared and ready’. I just wanted to unleash him. He’s really fully fit and fully ready to go, and this is what he showed today.
‘Excellent’
“I think he was excellent in his passing, (with) his positioning against the ball,” Farke adds. “Obviously not a perfect performance even there were some areas we can improve, but if you keep in mind that this was the first competitive game for him since a really long while, you have to say you have to give him lots of praise.
“I’m pleased that he repaid (our faith) as much as possible.”
