COMMENT
Leeds only added a goalkeeper in the January transfer window and that’s left fans fearing they might come up short in the second-half of the season.
Leeds have struggled at times this season with an extensive injury list that’s seen arguably their player of the season, Kalvin Phillips, having to come back to deputise in the heart of defence.
He’s been preferred to Aapo Halme but the knock-on effect has been profound, with Leeds really missing him in his preferred defensive midfield position.
After one standout performance in the Leeds Under-23s clash with Bolton at Elland Road last night, there’s a readymade alternative for Marcelo Bielsa if he suffers any more losses in central defence.
22-year-old Hugo Diaz was outstanding in the game, setting up both goals as part of a back three and he looked perfectly capable of stepping up and making the leap into the first team.
Gaetano Berardi and Stuart Dallas were playing in the game but it was Diaz who blew us away, with raking passes from the heart of defence.
At 22 he’s not a young player who need protecting and he would have hoped to have made the transition by now after his free transfer from Spanish club Silva SD.
He has made one appearance for Leeds last season and made the bench for the FA Cup defeat to QPR this year, but that’s the sum total of his first-team forays so far.
His display won’t have gone unnoticed. Bielsa watches the Under-23s closely and was at Elland Road on Monday. This was a performance that demanded your attention.
If extra bodies are needed between now and the end of the season, Diaz has just made a big claim to be rewarded with a step-up. And, given a choice, we’d much prefer Phillips to stay in midfield and for Diaz to get his big break.