Bristol City v Leeds United: Why Daniel Farke is so happy with midfield solution

And even if the ex-France international does not play for the Whites, manager Farke believes he has found a player who will contribute.

Leeds' plans were thrown into a bit of chaos as September became October with first Ethan Ampadu, then days later fellow central midfielder Ilia Gruev suffering injuries that mean they are unlikely to play again in 2024 – longer for Gruev.

It was compounded with Max Wober being sent for surgery around the same time. Wober and Ampadu were the back-up central defenders.

Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell have formed an impressive midfield partnership almost certain to continue at Bristol City in one of Saturday's early kick-offs, but an injury to either, or to centre-backs Joe Rodon or Pascal Struijk, would have Leeds turning to untested youngsters.

So this week they signed 34-year-old Guilavogui until the end of the season. His is eligible on Saturday.

"It was not our plan to sign a player in October, if we had been interested in Josuha we would have probably signed him in May or June," admitted Farke.

"But when something happens like this you have to be a bit creative.

"Our scouts are prepared for such a scenario and they're doing a really good job but you've also got to use your network a bit and the network of experienced key people who are around, that's what we tried to do.

"You have to be open to bring the best solution.

"The first thing was to speak about the profile of the player we wanted to bring in – it was not too complicated because it was obvious which type of player we needed.

"We also spoke about what type of character we needed and that he would need to accept his role.

"When our club captain (Ampadu) comes back it could be that he's not in the spotlight any more so we wanted a player who wasn't greedy to play every minute. He had to understand his role was a bit like a mentor and to cover, and someone who improves our young players.

"But not just as an assistant coach, he should still be greedy every day to show he should play.

"We wanted an experienced guy because we have a pretty young side.

"We had a few candidates and we had to check their physical conditions and speak to them. We also wanted someone who was affordable and not just here because of the money and then most importantly I wanted to speak to them about their role and what we expect.

"We did lots of research with his former team-mates, former managers, about how he behaves because in one or two conversations everyone can be really nice.

"We checked a few candidates and decided we wanted Josh and he wanted to come as well."

In Guilavogui, who can also play at centre-back, Farke believes he has ticked a lot of boxes.

"This is not a guy who will crack under the pressure, not even in an away stadium in front of 30,000 away fans," said his manager.

"Everyone who has worked with him was full of praise for his character. He was captain of more or less every team he played for.

"He speaks so many languages – he speaks Spanish with Mateo (Joseph), German, French with Illan (Meslier), his English is very good and he even seems to understand Henry McStay, our Irish guy in the medial department.

"He's played more than 200 games at Bundesliga level, he has played more than 100 games in Ligue 1, he has played seven times for France under Didier Deschamps in a time when France was more or less dominating European football."

Which begs the question why he did not have a club.

"The only thing you could speak about is perhaps his age,” said Farke.

"Normally you're reluctant to sign a new player at this age but the other thing is he's a pretty proud player. There were many offers for him in the past but he could afford to be pretty picky.”

The message that clubs have to be prepared for unexpected circumstances extends to the Leeds players, with Junior Firpo's suspension raising the possibility of Isaac Schmidt making a full debut this weekend if preferred to Sam Byram.

"Once you're not playing or getting the minutes you would like you have to stay professional, stay positive, you have to prepare yourself for when there is a chance" said Farke. "Sometimes you are not in rhythm and you just get one or two chances.

"Ao and Joe Rothwell had to wait a little bit but right now everyone is singing their praises and singing their names and they are pretty much in the spotlight.

"You have to make sure you're ready. If you're a football professional it's not like you can expect it to be easy and you'll play every minute, you also have to prepare for when the sun is not shining.

"This is a good lesson for everyone in the squad and everyone in professional football. "

Winger Largie Ramazani is set to be out for four to six weeks with the ankle ligament injury picked up against Watford on Tuesday.

Wober is ahead of schedule in his recovery and could join team training next week.