Despite the loss, Leeds Live (October 26) praised the Bulgarian international, praising his composure under pressure in the “solid” performance.
Leeds lost their only league game of the season, 1-0, away to Stoke on Wednesday, October 25.
Farke said: “It is always difficult when you start in a difficult away game. For this he did really well, we wanted today a player who was capable to cover a lot of ground, because Ilia is always when he is involved, with 12k, this is what we want to play.
“He’s a disciplined player, tall, we needed him for the long balls and second balls, also calm in possession and for his first game it was quite a solid performance.”
Gruev had an assured starting debut, but the team around him put out a lacklustre performance that saw Leeds’ unbeaten run come to an end.
The Bulgarian has been sidelined since his late arrival to Elland Road this summer, managing just a few cameo appearances, but Farke handed him a somewhat surprising start on Wednesday night.
Based on his performance at Stoke he can certainly cut it in the German’s side.
Per SofaScore, he earned 84 per cent passing accuracy, higher than his midfield partner Ethan Ampadu, as well as one interception and two tackles. He did the basics well but did not so too much to get the travelling fans excited.
Farke’s midfield has seen a few changes already this season and the German has plenty of options. Having been impressed with Gruev, perhaps he could be in contention for further starts. The likes of Glen Kamara will be eager to come back into the side, so the 23-year-old will need to hold his own.
