Broadcaster Adrian Durham revealed his shock at Marcelo Bielsa’s claim that Pablo Hernandez is one of the best players in his position he’s worked with during his managerial career.
Durham’s talkSPORT sidekick Matt Holland repeated the Argentine’s revelation from earlier this season about the wide playmaker during an exchange on the radio station on Monday about the best players in the Championship.
After Holland put forward Hernandez’s name and explained why he is “terrific”, Durham replied: ‘Wow, and he’s the former Argentine manager. That’s incredible.”
Adrian ? “Jack Grealish is the best player in the Championship for me.”
Matt ? “I’m going Pablo Hernandez.”@talkSPORTDrive & @MattHolland8 discuss the best Championship player.
Who do you think is best? ? pic.twitter.com/tiraM07APX
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) March 4, 2019
OPINION
Given that Bielsa has managed the Argentina and Chile national teams for 10 years during his glittering managerial career, as well as some major European clubs, it is a huge endorsement of Hernandez’s credentials that he rates him so highly. No wonder Durham is stunned. The attacking midfielder turns 34 next month and has spent the last three seasons in England’s second tier after a previous spell in the backwaters of Qatar, but he appears to be getting better with age, rather than being on the decline, as would be expected at that stage of his career. With eight goals and 11 assists from 27 league matches this season, Hernandez’s influence in Leeds’ automatic promotion bid is unarguable. He has been magnificent, dictating the play from the wide role Bielsa prefers to use him in, and providing a constant stream of creativity, quality and reliable distribution. Leeds fans adore the Spanish maestro, as they recognise how special he is.