On Thursday afternoon, Daniel Farke was only asked a few questions. The first was about team news, but the majority was about Jean-Matteo Bahoya, as Farke made a long-winded plea to fans.

Jean-Matteo Bahoya was an unused substitute again at Sunderland, as Leeds fans continue to beg the German manager to start using the Frenchman more often. So far, he’s managed two late cameo outings.

A total of five minutes, excluding injury time. Farke was asked why he isn’t using him, and it prompted an incredible response in which Farke initially asked the reporter why there is so much hype around Bahoya.

Farke then went on an impassioned plea to Leeds supporters and those who attend press conferences to stop asking about the France U21 star, and allow him to develop without putting huge pressure on him.

The long-winded answer, lasting over 10 minutes, saw Farke talk about what he buys in the supermarket, comparisons with Georginio Rutter and Raphinha, how he has a cold, and that he will give him a big hug.

Every word Farke said when asked why Bahoya isn’t playing

A reporter asked: “Bahoya. He’s a young lad still getting used to the Premier League. The phrase is, you don’t want to throw him into the water before he can swim. When is he going to do a lap of the pool?

“People have seen what he has done at Frankfurt. He’s a new player; people want to see a new player.” Farke then began his plea: “I have sensed this when I do my shopping in the local supermarket.

“An older lad came over, ‘Daniel, bring this young French winger on’. I said: ‘Ah, you know him’. ‘No, I don’t know him’. ‘Where have you seen him?’. ‘I haven’t seen him, I’ve just heard it’. I like it,” he added.

“I love Jean-Matteo. I like when the outside world believes in my players. I don’t want to change that. The problem we have is the perception. Maybe we sold him the wrong way, as if we signed the new Raphinha.

“Everyone loves a winger, especially a lightning-quick, good-looking fella like Jean-Matteo. But if you make too much hype around a young lad like him, this can’t be a success in the end,” Farke continued.

“Every press conference I’m asked about him. Couldn’t he start? Why didn’t he start? I don’t like that he’s in the spotlight; it’s not healthy, it’s not healthy for my relationship with him, or his standing in the group.

“I love working with him. But I don’t want to overload him with expectations. We signed him on the last day of the window. The truth is, we were trying to sign a player that can make an immediate impact.

“A game changer. But the club decided we couldn’t spend that kind of money. Jean-Matteo was always on our list; he is a player with huge potential, we’ve followed him, and then an opportunity arrived.

“He was sitting on the bench. Frankfurt decided he wouldn’t make an impact – otherwise they would have kept him. Frankfurt are hardly cutting the Bundesliga to pieces; they need players who make an impact.

“We don’t expect an immediate impact, but we believe in this guy. A top character, a joy to work with, lots of potential. He needs physicality, to improve his decision-making, his finishing; there are several aspects.

“If he does this, he can develop into a player that competes for minutes and a place in the starting line-up, and if this happens, we have a bargain. We have spent a small loan fee. We don’t expect anything.

“But we don’t risk anything – and we have the chance to make it permanent. But right now, to make an immediate impact, not reality. I’ve worked in the Bundesliga; it is easier than in the Premier League.

“We can’t expect to sign a player from the bench in the Bundesliga to start for a Premier League club. What he needs to do is to train with consistency, and he is doing this – he’s a joy to work with.

“He comes in with a smile on his face; he works unbelievably hard. But if we put this idea in his head – that a manager doesn’t play you, he should play you – all of his agents will start saying you should start.

“It won’t happen if he thinks he’s already on Raphinha level. If it’s just Bahoya, Bahoya, Bahoya, it’s not great for Dan James, Aaronson, Wilson. I’m not sure many knew him before we signed him. I did.

“After this press conference, I will go out and give him a big hug. Not a kiss because I have a cold and I want him to be available. We cannot overload our young players with the perception they can deliver.

“Because when they come into the game and they don’t deliver, they’re deemed not good enough at this level. I had Rutter. Record signing, £40m. Similar age group, at Hoffenheim he was a superstar,” he said.

“Six months later, ‘we have to get rid of him’. All my life, I’ve worked with young players because the clubs I’ve worked for needed to bring through young players. I worked with Georgi, and he started flourishing.

“We signed him for a record fee from the Bundesliga, and we saw how difficult it was for him. He was a superstar in the Bundesliga. How should it work for Jean-Matteo? He wasn’t even playing for Frankfurt?

“We didn’t spend £40m. If we put so much expectation on him, he won’t be a success. I just ask, in each press conference, after every game, or in the supermarket where I buy milk, orange juice: give him time.

“Let him breathe, let him work with me, and we can develop him. There is no one in this club who loves him more than me, or backs him to be a success. Let’s stop this hype around him; it’s not,” he finished.

So, is Farke right? Is he giving Bahoya the correct treatment?

There is no doubt that Bahoya is an exciting player. Type his name into YouTube, and you’ll find a highlight reel of all of his best moments. It’s easy to get excited about a player like the Frenchman.

But Farke is right. Delve a little deeper, and he’s not starting for a side similarly placed to Leeds in the Bundesliga, which, when all is said and done, is a lesser league than the top flight of English football.

He is young; he needs time. He has all the attributes to become a gamechanger, but he needs to hone that raw talent at Thorp Arch before Farke can trust him to start for Leeds in the Premier League.

Rutter was lambasted after struggling to play; even Sam Allardyce said he is a player for next season. For the sake of Bahoya, fans need to temper their expectations and allow Farke to work his proven magic.

Could Farke give Bahoya a bit more game time? Absolutely, but Leeds are playing in a way that rarely sees them winning comfortably; every game is a tense one. Give Farke and Bahoya time; he will shine.