Ilia Gruev says Leeds United's hunger is back after summer celebrations

The Whites made a point of enjoying themselves after dramatically winning the Championship title on goal difference through Manor Solomon's stoppage-time goal in the final game. The main prize, though, was promotion to the Premier League.

From the moment Leeds secured that over the Easter weekend, they celebrated hard.

Bulgaria midfielder Gruev says it took a couple of weeks to come down from the elation, but the hunger to go again is back now.

"I had an amazing summer but I was also full of adrenaline and enjoyment for the next task," he said. "After the first one or two weeks the hunger comes back because you want to prove (yourself).

"You want to get better and we have time in this period (of pre-season) to work on little things.

"Playing in the Premier League was a really important reason for coming to this club (from Werder Bremen in 2023). Before you come to Leeds you think about being one step from the Premier League."

Although Leeds will look to slightly adapt their game after two years where they were able to dominate possession in the second tier, Gruev has not detected any huge differences in the way they have prepared yet.

"It's still very early, only our second week of pre-season, so it's hard to compare the level,” he cautioned. “But the preparation is quite similar.

"Last summer we also had a very tough pre-season and of course you want to build up and get better and get more fit than last season.

"Pre-season has been really intense, but really good. The first week there was a lot of work without the ball, which I think you have to do. Of course you enjoy doing things with the ball more but we had a good atmosphere.

"It was good to see your team-mates all together after a long time without seeing them.

"Pre-season is the only time where you have time to work on physical things and it's quite normal in football that you have some sessions where you only put the running shoes on but this is part of the job. We try to enjoy these kind of things."

Saturday's game is the first friendly of the summer for both clubs, and Gruev is keen for everyone to keep it in perspective.

"We want to play how we played last season," he said. "We know it's a friendly but you want to win.

"But we can't forget it's our first game. We're really looking forward to it but it's a pre-season game and we have to play the best way we can but not to over-react to it."

Gruev has been talking to Saturday’s Yorkshire Post about how last season's celebrations made him realise just how big a club Leeds was, and about meeting the challenges that come with playing for a club of that stature.

The 25-year-old is set for a real fight for his place next season, with Leeds closing in on the £15m signing of Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff.

They are looking to sign Hoffenhiem's Anton Stach as well, but reportedly now face competition from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Besiktas having yet to tie up a signing that has been touted for weeks.

Manchester United have ended their drawn-out pursuit of Bryan Mbeumo by agreeing a £70m fee with Brentford but with a medical expected to take place on Saturday, he is unlikely to feature against the Whites.