OPINION
It has been a pretty miserable 12 months for Mateusz Klich at Leeds United.
Hailed as a super-smart acquisition after being signed from Dutch Eredivisie outfit FC Twente last year for around £1.5million, he found himself frozen out for most of his debut campaign under ex-bosses Thomas Christiansen and Paul Heckingbottom.
That fringe role appeared set to continue under new boss Marcelo Bielsa amid reports in the Yorkshire media that Klich had been demoted to train with the Under-23s over the last fortnight.
But the central midfielder totally dismissed that claim as he shut down a supporter who mocked him on social media, denying that he had ever been forced to play with the academy players at the club’s Thorp Arch headquarters.
Klich’s Twitter post strongly suggests he is firmly in the thoughts of Bielsa ahead of the start of the club’s pre-season programme next week.
This chimes with the fact the Poland international has not been among the nine exits from the club this summer, with Mallik Wilks becoming the latest of the departures on Wednesday evening as he headed to Doncaster Rovers on loan.
Klich is certainly as deserving of a chance in central midfield as the likes of Eunan O’Kane and Kalvin Phillips, for whom the jury is out after their wretched ends to 2017-18. Ronaldo Vieria also has much to prove after treading water last season.
The Pole now has the chance to push for the chance to partner Adam Forshaw, the undoubted first choice among the current crop, in the upcoming campaign.
Assuming he hasn’t got a move lined up, the midfielder, who turned 28 last month, can show in pre-season why his qualities in the centre of the pitch can no longer be ignored.