Leeds manager has heaped praise on Adam Forshaw after he gave the 27-year-old midfielder his first start of the season in the 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Bielsa decided to drop star man Samu Saiz for the Championship game and seemed happy with his decision when he was talking after the game.
He singled out the way Forshaw got himself ready for his first start in training.
Asked what he made of Forshaw he said, as quoted in the Yorkshire Evening Post, “Very good.”
He went on to say, “He’s a player who compared himself very well to play the game he played today.
“It’s as if he didn’t need to play many games to play as he did today. This tells you how prepared he was.
“He didn’t prepare himself with games, he did it in training sessions.”
COMMENTARY
Certain players have had to be very patient this season under Bielsa and Forshaw is one of them. He’s had to bide his time, in the knowledge that Bielsa doesn’t like to tinker with his starting XI and he eventually got his chance after Saiz was dropped. Can he keep Saiz out of the side? It’s very possible after the performance he put in on Saturday, although you’d have to think that Saiz would have a big shout at winning his spot back. On his day he’s the best Leeds player and one of the best players in the Championship. However, you can’t second guess Bielsa and if he does bring Saiz back into the team, Forshaw will have every reason to be disappointed. He’s probably seen more action in the Under-23s than in the Championship this season, despite being one of Leeds’ strongest players last season. He’s done everything he could though and it will be fascinating to see Bielsa’s line-up for the Wigan game on Sunday. Normally you can predict his eleven with 100% accuracy. We’re not so sure for this next game.