The Athletic’s Leeds United correspondent Phil Hay has recently discussed an issue regarding the Whites’ Spanish attacker Pablo Hernandez.
During Leeds’ recent 4-1 defeat against Crystal Palace, the 35-year-old attacking midfielder was a ‘surprise admission’ from the matchday squad (per Leeds Live).
It was then confirmed following the match that Hernandez was not left out of the squad due to an injury issue and that he “just wasn’t picked for” the game.
Another report by Leeds Live branded the omission of the attacking midfielder as ‘strange’ and claimed that it will ‘fester’ after Bielsa ‘failed to shut it down’.
During the latest episode of The Athletic’s The Phil Hay Show, the journalist discussed the issue surrounding Hernandez and the manager’s decision to drop him.
He said: “It’s probably worth saying that Bielsa didn’t really expand at all on the decision itself, and from what I’m told, I don’t think he really communicated much about it to anybody at the club either before the decision was taken – including Hernandez.
“Which isn’t a surprise, because he doesn’t tend to seek validation for what he wants to do with the team, it is always his decision and he sees the team as his to run.
“It’s safe to assume, though, isn’t it, that it relates to what happened against Leicester – either the black armband or the bottle kick.
“I don’t think Bielsa would have seen either of them at the time, because Hernandez was on the other side of the pitch when the armband was thrown; he was behind Bielsa with his back turned to him when he kicked the bottle.”
TIF Thoughts on what Phil Hay said about Pablo Hernandez…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, he believes that Bielsa did not communicate much about Hernandez’s omission from the squad to anybody, even Hernandez.
Is Pablo Hernandez still good enough to be a key player for Leeds?
No, he's past it now
Yes, he's a class player
Hopefully, if there are any issues, the player and the manager can resolve them because, during the 2019/20 season, the Spaniard was a key player for Leeds.
Over 36 league appearances, he bagged nine goals and nine assists making him the Whites’ joint-second-best performer (per WhoScored). So, it is clear to see how important the attacking midfielder can be for Bielsa’s side.