A lot of Leeds United fans were pleased to see Eddie Nketiah finally start a Championship match for their club.
Since joining the Whites on loan, the Arsenal man has made 16 appearances in the league, but not a single one has come from the start.
Did Nketiah impress?
Yes, worked hard and Leeds should keep him
No, didn't do enough to prove he deserves to be starting over Bamford
However, against Birmingham City, an injury to Patrick Bamford handed the 20-year-old his chance to shine, and he played well in a crazy game at St Andrew’s.
Before the match, many Leeds fans were pleased to see Nketiah in the starting XI.
? One change to the #LUFC Starting XI that featured against Preston. Nketiah starts in place of Bamford, whilst Roberts is named on the bench
— Leeds United (@LUFC) December 29, 2019
SCENESSSS
— Ben Placito (@BenPlacito) December 29, 2019
Wow! Eddie!
— Garry Pierrepont (@Weysider) December 29, 2019
Let’s see what the lad can do!!!!!!!
— Casey (@Gareth_Casey) December 29, 2019
Club serious about keeping Ed
— ? Grace ? (@__alaw__) December 29, 2019
Well here we go. Good luck Eddie. Your chance to take.
— Lord Bielsa (@LordBielsa) December 29, 2019
Other Whites supporters, though, were concerned about the strength of their bench.
God that bench is horrific
— Josh Corrie (@JoshCorrie10) December 29, 2019
That bench is so weak. We need to invest.
— Niall Branton ? (@NiallBranton) December 29, 2019
That bench and we don’t need to strengthen in jan ?
— Ron (@ronaallleeds) December 29, 2019
What do we think?
Nketiah has waited patiently for this chance all season, and though he did not score, he did impress with his work rate and Bamford-like work off the ball.
After the game, Marcelo Bielsa praised the 20-year-old and reiterated his desire for Nketiah to remain at Elland Road.
The 20-year-old also played an important role in the second goal as he chased down a lost cause and then deflected the ball into Ezgjan Alioski’s path who laid the ball off for Jack Harrison and he fired home. (0:30)
This was an assured performance from Nketiah and could lead to more starts in the near future.