Charlie Cresswell has revealed he learned he would make his Premier League debut five minutes before Leeds United’s warm-up. The Whites handed a top-flight debut to the 19-year-old amid an injury crisis in defence which was worsened by Luke Ayling’s knee problem. Cresswell impressed for United against Fulham in the Carabao Cup and was rewarded with a start against West Ham, though his debut was marred by a late 2-1 defeat. Speaking after the match, Cresswell offered an insight into the instructions given by Marcelo Bielsa and his reaction to his first taste of Premier League action.
Charlie Cresswell said: “In the moment, I’m gutted we lost but I’ll have to watch it back to see how I did individually. It’s very overwhelming, I’ll need to calm down, see how I did and watch it back. I found out about five minutes before the warm-up, I was told I was starting and I was just like ‘wow’. I sat in the dressing room and I had to stick my game head on. I thought It thought I adapted quite well. He (Marcelo Bielsa) just wanted me to go out there and do my thing. That is what has got me in this position but I just need to continue doing that. As a footballer and sportsman, I wanted to play every week but I need to be there for my team-mates and help when I can. Both teams battled hard today, it was tough to call but we need to stick together, hopefully, next time we can get the win,” he added, on the match itself. Sometimes result happen that shouldn’t happen but that’s football, you never know what will happen. We need to stick together, work hard and get that win soon, very soon.”
