Leeds United star could have played final game for the club after missing out on squad vs Fulham

Daniel Farke delivers damning verdict on £15m Leeds United flop after Fulham – ‘Need a bit more’ Leeds United got back to winning ways with a narrow 1-0 victory over Fulham at Elland Road on Saturday, preserving their eight-point cushion above the relegation zone.

Despite dominating large spells of the contest, Leeds looked set to be held to a goalless draw until the closing moments. Lukas Nmecha had other plans, firing home a dramatic winner in the final minute of normal time to secure all three points for the hosts.

There were jubilant scenes at full-time as Daniel Farke and his players celebrated a hard-earned home success, another display that underlined their credentials to remain in the Premier League.

However, amid the celebrations, there were concerns raised about the future of a Leeds star, especially after what Farke said at the end of the game.

Daniel Farke provides damning verdict on Leeds United star Lucas Perri Farke made a major decision on Saturday when he made the call to drop Lucas Perri to the bench after his performance in the 4-3 defeat at Newcastle United.

The Brazilian didn’t do enough to avoid Newcastle’s winning goal, and he found himself on the bench as Karl Darlow started in the 1-0 win over Fulham at Elland Road.

Perri is now facing an uphill task to return to the team, and the Leeds manager conceded that the designated number one has not played well enough to warrant a place in the team.

He feels a promoted team need a bit more from their goalkeeper to survive in the Premier League and believes Darlow has shown enough to earn his trust.

Farke was quoted as saying by the Yorkshire Evening Post: “I have so much respect for Lucas. He came in relatively late in pre-season, was injured, played a few games and was again injured. “On this level, as a promoted side, you need a keeper there with top performances, or you can’t stay in the league. You need a bit more, even as a newly-promoted side, than a side that always dominates the ball as we did in the Championship. “In the last weeks, he has not delivered perhaps what we were expecting on this level. There is always pressure. “We have Karl, a really reliable, solid goalkeeper, who was fantastic for us in the run-in last season and when Lucas wasn’t available.”

Perri has not been convincing enough this season Farke made his frustration around Perri loud and clear following the defeat at Newcastle, and it was not surprising to see the Brazilian out of the starting eleven against Fulham.

Leeds United paid a considerable fee of £15m to sign the Brazilian from Lyon last summer, and he was anointed as the first-choice from the moment he walked in.

However, Perri has been short of convincing, and Farke raised concerns about his ability on the ball very early in the season.

Lucas Perri’s goalkeeper metrics per 90 minutes and percentile rankings over the last year Goalkeeping metric (per 90) Value Percentile PSxG − Goals Against -0.06 23

Goals conceded 1.58 17

Save percentage 68.3% 30

PSxG per shot on target 0.33 80

Penalty save percentage 0.0% 22

Clean sheet percentage 23.7% 39

Touches 37.41 42

Launch percentage 34.6% 58

Goal kicks 4.37 21

Average goal-kick length 48.8 66

Crosses stopped % 5.7% 45

Defensive actions outside the box 0.45 2

Avg. distance of defensive actions 10.6 4

His performances have dropped over the last month, including a howler against Manchester United, and it was a matter of time before Darlow replaced him in the starting eleven at some point this campaign.

It remains to be seen whether the Brazilian finds a way to win back his place in the team by the end of the season.