Leeds United-oriented journalist Phil Hay has revealed that manager Marcelo Bielsa was not happy when the club allowed Eddie Nketiah to return to Arsenal in January.
The latest episode of ‘The Phil Hay Show’ was released recently and it had Hay talking about many issues surrounding the Elland Road-based side. One of the things that Hay spoke about was how Bielsa wasn’t happy when Leeds allowed Nketiah to return to the Emirates back in January.
Leeds had signed Nketiah on loan from Arsenal in the summer of 2019 and it was a season-long loan deal. But the striker’s time at Elland Road was cut short after the Gunners recalled him in January of 2020.
And, while talking on the podcast, Hay revealed that Bielsa wasn’t happy when the Englishman left Leeds.
Hay said: “When I look back to Bielsa’s frustration in January about Nketiah and the amount he spoke about him and the extent to which he seemed aggrieved at the narrative that was following him [that] he hadn’t played Nketiah enough, he didn’t look after him, he didn’t hold up his end of the bargain with Arsenal.
Do Leeds miss Nketiah today?
Yes, we need a player like him
No, we're fine without him
“I think there was frustration about the coverage, and I think there was frustration about the kind of subtle little attacks on his character. But I think as well, there would have been an annoyance in the background that he was even having to go through the process of finding another striker because in his head, Nketiah was there for the season and he didn’t see any reason for Nketiah to be leaving at that point.”
It proves that Bielsa really wanted to keep Nketiah at Elland Road and wasn’t happy when the club was forced to scour the market to sign another striker in January.
TIF Thoughts…
While Nketiah wasn’t at Leeds for a long time, the Englishman did make 17 Championship appearances for the club and found the back of the net three times, while also picking up a single assist. He had played two League Cup games for the club and he scored a goal in each of those outings (via Transfermarkt).
It shows that Nketiah had a decent spell at Leeds. For Arsenal, the striker has scored two Premier League goals and two FA Cup goals already. So it shows that he does have the quality to lead the line. His abilities could have added a lot to the Leeds side and going by the decent numbers, it is understandable why Bielsa wasn’t happy with things.