Phil Hay has been speaking on the latest edition of The Athletic’s The Phil Hay Show about all things relating to Leeds United.
One of the topics that he talked about was the form of Rodrigo.
The Whites signed the 29-year-old from Valencia in the last transfer window, and he has made seven Premier League appearances in which he has scored one goal.
However, in the last match against Arsenal, Rodrigo came off the bench to turn in a pretty average display of 6.58, which saw him hit the woodwork once, have three shots, and make two key passes.
This led Hay to heap praise on the former Bolton Wanderers forward.
He said: “Rodrigo was so good when he came on, on Sunday, that I think there was an argument that Bielsa could perhaps have made that sub a little bit earlier and just let him loose at the point at which Arsenal were down to 10 and were about to sit back.
“He looks like a class act, and I think looks better and better value at £27m every time he plays; he could be a huge player over the next two or three years.”
Do you agree with Hay on Rodrigo?
Yes, he is getting better
No, he hasn't impressed yet
TIF Thoughts on Rodrigo and Hay’s view on him…
According to WhoScored, despite making two key passes and having three shots, the 29-year-old did not make that much of an impact off the bench against the Gunners, and it will be intriguing to see if he can put in a better performance against Everton.
Interestingly, since he moved to Leeds, he has played as an attacking midfielder or as a shadow striker on some occasions as Patrick Bamford has taken that striker role for himself with seven Premier League goals.
Rodrigo played 147 games as a forward for Valencia, but it looks like Marcelo Bielsa has found a new role for the Spaniard.
However, he has struggled in a few games this season, and we feel as if, though Hay thought Rodrigo was good, he needs to improve on some of his performances this season.
As such, we think that Leeds fans should not get that excited over Rodrigo yet.