Mateusz Klich was the only Leeds United player who changed Marcelo Bielsa’s mind all summer as he rarely wavered on who must leave the club, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.
The regional newspaper claim the Argentine manager split the squad into three categories – yes, no and maybe – after watching every minute of the team’s performances last season before he was installed in the Elland Road hotseat.
The Yorkshire Evening Post report that only Poland international Klich “climbed the ladder” as Bielsa “rarely wavered on anyone else” after warning when he took over that at least 15 players were at risk of leaving.
OPINION
Bielsa is a decisive manager who knows his own mind and has fixed ideas that are not open to debate. The Leeds playing style he has implemented this season and which has made such a huge impact as the team set the Championship pace is also being followed by the club’s youth teams. The Argentine’s approach to tactics is similar on transfers. He makes up his mind and is rarely swayed. Credit to Klich, then, who convinced Bielsa during pre-season that he could have a major role to play this season after being frozen out by the previous regimes and loaned out to the Dutch Eredivisie in the second half of 2017-18. The central midfielder was apparently initially designated as a “maybe”, but rose up the ladder to achieve “yes status” during a summer in which Leeds offloaded 24 players at youth or senior level, including 17 on loan. Klich has started all six Championship matches to date and been a key player alongside Kalvin Phillips in central midfield.