Graham Smyth, the Chief Football Writer at the Yorkshire Evening Post has been discussing Leeds United’s Pablo Hernandez and the impact Rodrigo may have on his future role under Marcelo Bielsa during the Inside Elland Road podcast.
Hernandez has been with the Whites since joining from Al-Arabi SC and he has gone on to make 162 appearances for the club, contributing 36 goals and 39 assists (as per Transfermarkt). Last season, according to WhoScored, the Spaniard made 36 appearances in the Championship, earning an average performance rating of 7.22/10, making him the club’s second-best performer.
In the summer, Marcelo Bielsa’s side signed Rodrigo from Valencia for a club-record fee of €29m (£26m) and Smyth seems to think his arrival could see Hernandez’s role within the squad change, here is what he had to say:
“I just think that Rodrigo’s ability and his mobility make him a very difficult player to leave out. What an option that is, to play Rodrigo for 75 minutes and then bring Pablo on for 15 to try and hurt teams; it’s a great position to be in for a head coach. Whether it is a great position to be in when you’re Pablo Hernandez, when you were the man in the promotion run-in, even though he was nursing an injury and he was making cameo appearances, they were match-winning, match-changing cameo appearances.
“He was the main man, the go-to man that got Leeds up, and so for him, there might be an adjustment period. He probably won’t accept [it] because we know what a fierce competitor he is and we know the confidence he’s got and the fact that at his age, he still feels fit enough and more than good enough to compete and play at this level. I think it will be a difficult thing for him to accept, I doubt that he will accept it.”
Does Pablo Hernandez still have a big role to play at Leeds?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Graham Smyth’s comments regarding Pablo Hernandez’s role at Leeds…
Pablo Hernandez has played just 19% of Leeds’ total minutes since their return to the Premier League (as per Transfermarkt) and so you can understand why in Smyth’s view, the 35-year-old’s influence over the side might be reduced given the boss now has another option capable of playing in a similar role, just off of the centre-forward as a support-striker or attacking-midfielder.
The former Swansea striker recently landed himself in hot water with Bielsa after his ‘angry outburst’ following his substitution during the defeat versus Leicester City. Although the journalist has predicted that Hernandez will likely continue to fight to prove himself worthy of a place in the squad, it remains to be seen whether he can do enough to see him feature regularly for Bielsa in the Premier League moving forward.