Journalist Phil Hay has recently talked about Pablo Hernandez’s future at Leeds United.
Hay appeared on the latest edition of The Phil Hay Show and he talked about multiple issues involving the Whites. One player that he was asked about was Hernandez and his current situation at Elland Road. He felt pretty certain that the Spaniard’s future lies away from the Yorkshire-based side.
Is 2021 Leeds' best chance of selling Hernandez?
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Hernandez, who currently earns £23,500 per week (via Sportekz), played 36 league games in the Championship last season for Leeds, contributing to nine goals and nine assists for the Whites.
This season, though, the midfielder hasn’t played too much for Marcelo Bielsa’s side, having played just 364 first-team minutes (as per Transfermarkt).
Hay feels that Hernandez is close to the end of his career and one can expect him to leave soon enough.
The journalist said: “It just brings you back again, to the realisation that Hernandez is no longer really a player that Bielsa seems inclined to reach for.
“And I don’t mean that he’s written him off completely yet, but I find it hard to imagine that Hernandez won’t be going in the summer, because I’m not sure what this is doing for anybody, now, and as we said on the previous podcast, he’s very close to the end of his career.
“He’s never struck me as a sort of player who would want to lose his final year, his final 18 months, to complete inactivity. I don’t think there’s anything in him for that. He’s won promotion here, Leeds are back in the Premier League, but he isn’t playing. So where’s the draw? Where’s the appeal?
“I don’t imagine that he’s training in a way which is ruling him out, I don’t think he’s the type to kind of throw the towel in and down tools. But it’s got to the stage now where you’re almost not expecting Bielsa to go for him, even in games where something different’s needed.”
TIF Thoughts on Hernandez’s future…
Hernandez is now 35 and his contract at Leeds runs out in the summer of 2022, which means that the summer of 2021 could be Leeds’ best chance of getting some fee from his potential sale. He isn’t playing a part in the club’s first team anyway, so it would be wise for Leeds to make the decision to sell him in the summer.
His contributions in the Championship last season suggest that he can be a part of the squad and whenever he departs, the Whites might need a potential replacement.