Leeds United boss Daniel Farke impressed with new faces in New Jersey warm-up against Sunderland

Lukas Nmecha’s first-half goal was all Leeds needed to defeat the Black Cats 1-0, rebounding from Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Liverpool in Tampa.

Muharemovic and Wilson both started the game, while Farke used a total of 21 players throughout the 90 minutes.

Although there was little at stake, Farke was pleased with his team’s effort.

“First of all it was very important minutes for us to put in the tank against a really good side and it was clear that it was two of the teams from the best league in the world,” said the United manager.

“It is always competitive, it’s never easy and you also have to accept spells when the opponents puts pressure on you but overall it was our first win of the summer and first clean sheet, so I am very happy with this.

“I think we defended excellently. We didn’t allow many clinical chances. Yes, I think we could have scored one or two more goals, I think there was also a penalty incident in the second half, but I definitely don’t complain about the good performance and a clean sheet.”

Muharemovic and Wilson were two players of particular interest to Farke and Leeds fans given they are the summer’s two big signings so far.

Muharemovic, 23, made the switch from Serie A club Sassuolo having starred for Bosnia-Herzegovina during this summer’s World Cup, while Wales international Wilson joined on a free transfer after seeing his contract expire at Fulham.

Both players gave the visiting Leeds fans a lot to be pleased with in their respective performances.

“Tarik it’s a bit more challenging because it’s his first time in English football, the first time with his new teammates and how he has to adapt to different things,” added Farke.

“He is a very young player who played one year or less really at the top level, but is a promising young man that is full of talent and unbelievable potential, really the sky is the limit for him.

“I think we could see his calmness today, his body language, how he reads the game, and he also had many interceptions,” Farke added. “I think for his first appearance with his new teammates it was a class appearance and we are happy with him.

“We have played against Harry in the Premier League and it was an outstanding season for him last season.

“He was creating a lot of goalscoring chances between him and his team-mates and has a lot of experience in the Premier League which brings more quality to us.”

In addition to new faces, five players aged 20-years-old and under also earned minutes in the match as they continued their development.

Callum Mills made his second-consecutive start while Rhys Chadwick, Jayden Lienou, Alfie Cresswell and Charlie Crew all made appearances off the bench after half-time.

With several of his first-choice players still not back to 100% fitness yet, Farke wants to provide his younger prospects valuable experiences against top-tier opposition.

“It’s a bit tough because we still have players that have not come back to us yet from the World Cup and that have had an extra holiday,” explained Farke.

“We want to keep going with this culture that we want to win. This is one of our cornerstones now and part of our philosophy, so we want to give our young players a chance to play and see how they adapt on this top level.

“They have to prove in training and with good performances they will get chances to play and provide some positive glimpses. I’m always a bit careful to not praise them too much because they will get a lot of hype straight away, so they need to keep going with this.”

Leeds are now preparing to close out their US summer tour with a rematch against Liverpool on Sunday in Chicago.

Andoni Iraola’s men defeated Sunderland 4-2 on July 25 before edging out Wrexham 1-0 on Wednesday.

Should Leeds end the tour with back-to-back victories and they will return to the brimming with confidence.

“I expect another tough test against Liverpool, especially with the quality of players that they have,” said Farke.

“These moments right now are very challenging with double sessions and going for multiple weeks but there is no replacement for that winning feeling and it would be great to have it again.”