Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke may be quietly frustrated with the fact that his side have drawn three of their last four matches in the Premier League.

Either side of a 4-1 win over Newcastle United, the Whites have drawn 1-1 with Brighton and Brentford and drawn 0-0 with Crystal Palace in their most recent clash on Sunday.

The West Yorkshire outfit failed to find the back of the net for the first time this season in their draw with the Eagles over the weekend, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin spurned a huge opportunity to win the match late on.

Unfortunately, the German head coach did not have the quality on his bench to change the game and that meant that Calvert-Lewin's miss was ultimately costly.

Why Leeds' bench cost them against Crystal Palace

The top teams in the Premier League have deep squads with enough depth to change games by bringing on substitutes who can make an impact at the top end of the pitch.

In the summer transfer window, though, the Whites did not spend a single penny on transfer fees for attacking players, only signing Harry Wilson on a free transfer and Jean-Matteo Bahoya on loan.

With Wilson out through injury and Bahoya only given the last 90 seconds of stoppage time having joined on deadline day, Farke's options on the bench were limited.

Brenden Aaronson came on for Ao Tanaka in the 68th minute in the manager's first attempt to go and win the match, but the USA international failed to have the desired impact at Elland Road.

The 26-year-old attacking midfielder did not register a single shot or key pass in 22 minutes on the pitch, which means that he has now gone 22 Premier League matches without a goal for the club.

Leeds' lack of quality on the bench ultimately cost them the win because players like Aaronson are not likely to impact Premier League games on a regular basis, as a starter, let alone as a substitute.

Leeds flop was worse than Aaronson against Palace

The American midfielder was not the only substitute who failed to impress against the Eagles, though, as the player that joined him off the bench was even worse,

Dan James was brought on at the same time as Aaronson with 22 minutes to go, in the hope that he could push Leeds on to win the game, but he struggled badly in the closing stages of the game.

The Wales international has been given plenty of chances by Daniel Farke in the Premier League this season, featuring in three of the last four matches, and he has not stepped up to the mark.

James has not looked at home in the Premier League since the Whites secured promotion out of the Championship last year, which is why he should not be given another minute on the pitch in the top-flight.

The Wales international, like Aaronson, did not record any shots, key passes, or successful dribbles in his cameo off the bench against Palace, as he failed to impact the game in a positive manner.

He was even worse than the American midfielder, though, because he only completed two passes in 22 minutes, six fewer than Aaronson, and lost 83% of his total duels.

Whilst the USA international won 50% of his duels and held his own physically, James failed to deal with the intensity and physicality of the match against Palace, losing all four of his ground duels.

James has now failed to score a single goal or provide any assists in 22 appearances in the Premier League for Leeds since the start of the 2025/26 campaign, although he did net against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup this season.

In league action, the Welshman has not been good enough and has not proven that he can be relied upon by Farke to make a difference in the final third, given his complete lack of goal contributions.

Aaronson, to his credit, scored four goals and provided five assists in the Premier League in the 2025/26 campaign, which shows that he can offer quality, but just not consistently.

James, meanwhile, has not shown that he can offer quality at any time since Leeds were promoted back to the big time, which is why Farke should stop giving him minutes on the pitch.

The Wales international should be left in the reserves until the January transfer window opens and they have an opportunity to move him on, possibly opening the door for a higher-quality replacement to be brought in.