Daniel Farke on Leeds United's Illa Gruev - and seeking more players who are 'running up the hill' and not 'down'

The United manager has been around the block long enough at Championship level to know that good players eventually get their hankered-for opportunity at some point during a nine-month slog.

The Bulgarian midfielder’s time is now. He has started United’s last three matches in all competitions and has made an impression with his indefatigable performances.

He is the sort of ‘foot soldier’ who is very useful at this period in proceedings for promotion-chasing clubs, when the grind can kick in a bit. He just so happens to be a humble, grounded individual as well - just Farke’s sort of individual.

On Gruev, who joined on a four-year deal last summer, Farke said: “More important than the talking is the pitch and you could sense what type of character he is when you watch him play because when he is on the pitch, no one on the pitch, both from our team or the other team, covers more distance.

"He is always solid, always reliable and plays in possession with very rare mistakes. He is good on the ball, disciplined, professional and has a top, top work ethic.

"If you are like this on the pitch, you can imagine off the pitch he is exactly like this. From the first day he walked in, he was modest, humble, hard working and also patient.

"He waited for his chance, but was the first one in and last one off the training pitch. He was always interested and in with our sports science team to add a bit more strength to his body.

"He is one of the most professional players I have ever worked with. He is definitely on the right path and we are happy that we have.”At 23, Gruev is not just United’s present, but also their future and can be expected to grow further under Farke, hopefully alongside the likes of Archie Gray and Mateo Joseph and a number of others.

Joseph’s development this season was rewarded by way of recently penning a long deal which runs until the summer of 2028.

The 20-year-old forward has made seven substitute appearances this season.

As for Farke is concerned, getting further young talents to sign extended contracts, as a consequence of their progress, means he is doing his job right.

He continued: "Congratulations to Mateo, it’s pretty good news for him and for us as well. It’s sign of what we want to build here.

"We are trying to build something new and the long-term contracts for some of our young players are a sign of what we want to achieve.“We gave, for example, Ethan Ampadu a long-term contract and Archie Gray, a 17-year-old boy, (also) a long-term contract.“Mateo Joseph now has a long-term contract because we believe these type of guys will be the future for Leeds United.“We also love to have players in the squad who haven’t achieved the peak in their careers yet and we want to work more with players who are running up the hill rather than down the hill.”