Exclusive:Leeds United new signing Lukas Nmecha on secretive team-mate and ending 'isolation'

Lukas Nmecha was more than ready to come home after an 'isolated' time in Germany.

The irony will not have been lost on the softly-spoken 26-year-old that no sooner had he returned to England and signed for Leeds United that they took him straight back to Germany.

But the knowledge that once the pre-season training camp is complete he will be heading back to England and living just an hour away from his family and home cooking will be comforting.

Nmecha was the first through the door this summer on June 15. He was a bolt from the blue.

The YEP first reported that he was close to signing a deal as a free agent on the morning of the day he completed his move.

Yet where other deals were first put into motion months ago - Anton Stach's representatives had their first conversations with Leeds in March, Sebastian Bornauw was aware of the Whites' interest even earlier - the possibility of signing Nmecha cropped up quite late on and quite suddenly.

He was a player they were well aware of and sporting director Adam Underwood in particular knew of the striker's story having been involved so long in the academy world, but not one they had been planning for until the chance arose.

“I think it's going to be be a move that they're going to be happy about”

They jumped at it, despite what Daniel Farke would call his 'injury CV,' and Nmecha believes they won't regret it.

"I would say maybe yes, in a way [Leeds showed faith in his ability to sign him] but I think it's going to be be a move that they're going to be happy about," he told the YEP.

"The thing that's always given me a lot of confidence is that even though I've had these times being out the game, whenever I've come back, I felt really comfortable. I'm starting to gain my confidence here again, training is going really well.

“I know it's still the beginning phases. It's mainly just about getting the fitness back up to speed. Nice to have a few games coming up now, getting the chemistry with the boys."

Against Manchester United, Nmecha looked sharp in a first half cameo, showing off his hold-up play, spinning in behind his marker and winning a free-kick or simply giving the centre-backs a difficult time as the ball was played up to him.

Physicality is one of the tools Leeds hope to use to good effect in setting about the Premier League this season. Like Nmecha, a lot of their summer signings are 26-year-old big lads. He gets the idea.

"I think it's physically the top league," he said. "I think that's just standard, that you're physically in a good place in the Prem. I think everyone is pretty much, I don't want to say on the same level, but quite similar.

“Yeah I think we have some big boys in now but like you said, it's not just about size. It's about seeing the game and stuff like that."

Praise for ‘good player’ new in at Leeds

One of those big defenders is Jaka Bijol who has not taken long to demonstrate his physicality to the forwards and others in the Leeds camp.

"Good player," said Nmecha. "He hurts you when you give the ball a few seconds too late, he'll stick one on you by accident - I don't know, maybe just to let you know to pass it quicker next time. But yeah, he's doing well."

Another statuesque new arrival is already very well known to Nmecha. He arrived at Wolfsburg on the very same day as Bornauw in 2021 and they spent four years together.

They're still close. Before Nmecha sat down with the YEP the pair were discussing whether or not Bornauw would wait for his team-mate before leaving Thorp Arch and going food shopping.

But the Belgian's arrival at Elland Road to continue their playing partnership came as somewhat of a surprise to Nmecha.

He says: “Actually, we work with the same physio slash preparation coach, and I spoke to [the coach] before I came here and told him I could be coming here, and Seb actually was there at the time. So he heard that, but I didn't have a clue that he was coming here until two days before he signed. He kept it quite quiet.

“I heard him asking a few questions, which was a bit strange”

“Every time I did mention [Leeds] I heard him asking a few questions, which was a bit strange. I played with Jack [Harrison, Seb, and I played against a few of the boys when I was in the Championship and in the youth teams. I've played against a few of them, but they're all nice.

“I feel like I've been here for longer than just maybe two weeks now. The intensity of the training has made it feel longer than two weeks. It's been really tough."

Nothing Nmecha says about his time at Wolfsburg suggests that he had any issues with his team-mates there, but there is a major difference at Leeds that made the move more attractive.

"My family lives here [in England], my mum, my dad, my sister live here,” he says. “It's nice. I'm only an hour away from home. We had the day off yesterday, and I could go home, see my family, family cooking and all that kind of stuff. It is really nice. I think in the time in Germany, I was very isolated. I would say.

“I was quite isolated, on my own. So it's really nice to be back”

“Of course, I had team-mates who you get along with, but you see them every day so you don't always want to see them after training. I was quite isolated, on my own. So it's really nice to be back.

"It wasn't so much that I was constantly thinking about [moving back], but it just kind of opened itself up, and then I took the chance. I think it was not my plan to stay in Germany for as long as I did, but obviously, with my past and difficulties and stuff, I ended up staying there for the whole length of my contract.

“But I played my academy days in England. A lot of the players I played against are playing well in the Premier League now, so it's nice to come back and show myself again."

Beyond proving a point ability wise against his peers in the English top flight, Nmecha will want to prove he can be a durable, reliable player for Leeds.

There was an ankle injury in a first Wolfsburg season that brought 18 Bundesliga starts. Knee problems disrupted his 2022/23 campaign and left him with just 10 starts.

The following season was entirely decimated by knee and then hamstring issues, resulting in three substitute appearances.

Last term it was hamstring and then groin problems that left him with three starts and 16 substitute outings. He left Germany with just 16 goals from his four seasons, though one came every 197 minutes he was on the pitch.

Prior to that, in the Belgian top flight he scored one every 187 minutes. Nmecha's role will be an interesting one.

The future of Patrick Bamford lies elsewhere and the future of Mateo Joseph is very much up in the air. Leeds are not currently minded to sell, but of course every player has a price, and it is possible that the young Spanish U21 international will find himself out on loan.

"I think I would like to say I've improved a million things”

The Whites are in the market for another number 9 who would be considered a marquee signing and serious contender for the starting position up top.

Then there's Joel Piroe, who appears to have returned for pre-season in the shape of his life.

There is no shortage of confidence in Nmecha's slowly-delivered words when he talks about his ability to cut it in the Premier League. There's an honesty too.

"I think in England other countries are definitely a little bit disregarded, like their football," he told the YEP.

"So even my friends in Manchester, when I moved here, they said 'finally, a proper club' and stuff like that when, you know, I moved to Germany and we were playing Champions League football. But I'm excited, because the Premier League is the best league in the world. I'm excited, optimistic and looking forward to it.

"I think I would like to say I've improved a million things. But with the time that I spent outside of the game I think it was a lot of character building more than anything, a lot of learning, patience, a lot of trust in the process. And yeah, I think I'll just say I matured more as a person, rather than as a footballer. But I still believe I'm capable to do what I do on the pitch."