Graham Smyth of the Yorkshire Evening Post has been discussing Adam Forshaw on a recent episode of the Inside Elland Road podcast alongside Joe Urquhart.
The 28-year-old central midfield player joined the Whites from Middlesbrough in January 2018 in a deal reportedly worth £4.59m (via Transfermarkt.co.uk) but has been limited to just seven appearances in the Championship this season due to injury.
Forshaw has been sidelined by a hip injury since September and has missed 35 games to date. Speaking on the podcast, Smyth spoke of the difference it would have made to Marcelo Bielsa and the squad had the £2.88m-rated midfielder been available for selection.
He said: “The bench would have been pretty strong all season had Forshaw been fit. Bielsa would have had some tricky selection decisions for the middle of the park. The good news is that he looks like he’ll be back for pre-season, he’s had a torrid time of it and he’ll be a relieved man having used words like ‘romp’ and ‘formality’ if Leeds do indeed go and secure an end to their Premier League exile.”
Do you believe Forshaw would have started most games had he remained fit?
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TIF Thoughts…
During the 2018/19 campaign, Forshaw was a regular, making 32 appearances for Bielsa’s Whites. Taking that into consideration, Graham Smyth may have a point when he says had the former Brentford man been fit, it would have provided the Leeds boss with a selection headache.
Smyth goes on to say that he expects the player to return in pre-season, boosting the club’s central-midfield options ahead of what looks as though it is going to be their first season back in the Premier League since their relegation in 2004.