Eddie Gray has urged Leeds United to recall Samuel Saiz to the starting XI on Wednesday night against Derby County.
The Whites travel to Derby for an important league clash and need to pick up a positive result to keep their slim hopes of reaching the play-offs alive.
Manager Paul Heckingbottom has been given a lift ahead of the game as three senior players are all available to return following suspensions, with defender Gaetano Berardi and Liam Cooper back in contention.
Meanwhile, Saiz has served his six-game ban after a spitting at an opponent in the FA Cup and will be desperate to make up for that.
The 27-year-old has been a standout player at Elland Road this season following his summer arrival, but the team failed to win during the six games he missed.
He is an attacking midfielder that likes to play in a number 10 role behind the striker and already has nine goals so far this season.
Leeds legend Gray has claimed he would definitely reinstate Saiz to the starting XI and claims he would be a major boost to the side.
“If I was picking the team I’d pick Saiz, he has not been injured and it is not as if he has not been training,” Gray told LUTV.
“When you look at the players we’ve got available at the football club, without being disrespectful to any other players, he is probably the most creative player we’ve got.
“Saiz has got the legs to get from one end of the pitch to another. He can create and score goals. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was on the bench, but there will be a big temptation to play him from the start in what is an important game for us.”
OPINION
Saiz’s absence has been absolutely pivotal for Leeds’ season in a bad way and they have seen themselves slip eight points away from the play-off spots. The Spanish playmaker is arguably the best player at the Yorkshire giants and had been integral during the team’s success earlier in the campaign. He does still have 14 league games to redeem himself and there is no doubt he should start on Wednesday night in a very difficult clash away to promotion hopefuls Derby. Saiz has the intelligence in the final third to unlock defences and that could be great news for in-form centre-forward Pierre-Michel Lasogga.