OPINION
Leeds have had a fantastic start to the season under new manager Marcelo Bielsa.
Still undefeated and top of the league, Leeds have already beaten some of the Championship favourites, like Stoke and West Brom, and drawn with others such as Middlesbrough and Swansea.
All four of those teams should be in the mix at the end of the season and Leeds have the benefit of some easier games coming up.
They’ve also got the boost of being able to call on former Middlesbrough man Adam Forshaw.
He joined last January for £4.5million and made a strong start to his Leeds career, with some fans seeing him as a future captain, before injury struck after just 12 appearances. Forshaw hasn’t played now since June.
However, in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Middlesbrough game, as quoted by Leeds.Live, Bielsa confirmed that Forshaw would be fit after the international break.
Will he get straight into the side?
That might seem unlikely, with Bielsa choosing to stick with the XI that started the season as much as possible.
However, Forshaw should be unleashed straight away and we think he’ll quickly become a regular again. He adds something completely different to the Leeds side and proved that he’s got leadership qualities in his locker too – and Leeds could do with more leaders on the pitch.
Leeds fans might struggle to remember how good Forshaw looked and those displays have to be put in the context of a period in the season when pretty much everyone looked awful – including a lot of Bielsa’s starting Xi.
The re-introduction of Forshaw could be just like a new signing for Leeds and even if used from the bench to start off with, we’d expect him to stake a claim to the starting XI quickly. He’s that good.
If not, Leeds will have one of the strongest benches in the Championship, with Forhsaw and former Middlesbrough teammate, £7m summer signing Patrick Bamford alongside him.
It’s a good problem for Bielsa to have.